CloudMD Software & Services Inc. (TSXV: DOC, OTCQX: DOCRF,
Frankfurt: 6PH) (the “
Company” or
“
CloudMD”), a healthcare technology and innovative
health services company transforming the delivery of care, today
released a research study that demonstrates the positive outcome
results from using its therapist-led internet based cognitive
behavioural therapy (TAiCBT) for individuals suffering from
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) across symptom severity
levels, trauma types and demographics.
PTSD is a debilitating condition often
exacerbated by long wait times and lack of access to effective
treatment. The first line psychological treatments for PTSD are
rooted in principles of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
Digital delivery of these therapies represents an opportunity to
improve access to evidence-based treatment that can reduce symptoms
of posttraumatic stress.
CloudMD recently completed its study to
determine the effectiveness of its TAiCBT for posttraumatic stress
and examine how pre-treatment client characteristics are related to
key outcomes. The sample consisted of individuals with histories of
traumas ranging from experiencing sexual assault to observing
work-related suffering; this enabled researchers to also explore
the relationship between these diverse histories and treatment
outcomes.
Highlights of Results:
- Between January 2020 and June 2022,
4,236 people consented to treatment for symptoms of posttraumatic
stress, and 3,689 of those completed at least one post assessment
outcome measure.
- Clients reported significant
symptoms: 96% reported symptoms that exceeded the threshold for
being a clinical case and 68% also reported serious symptoms of
depression and anxiety, as well as impaired functioning in
day-to-day activities.
- Clients reported a range of trauma
histories: 68% reported ‘other unwanted or uncomfortable sexual
experience’, 59% reported physical assault, 56% reported sexual
assault, 36% reported a transportation accident, and 54% reported
‘other very stressful event’.
- When broken down by gender, unwanted
sexual experiences and assaults (both physical and sexual) were the
most reported experiences for women. For men, the most reported
traumatic experiences were physical assaults, other stressful
experiences or a transportation accident.
- On average, clients started
treatment within 7 calendar days of submitting an assessment, with
71% of treatment content completed outside of standard work
hours.
- The CloudMD treatment had a large
and statistically significant effect on clients’ posttraumatic
stress symptoms and a moderate effect on symptoms of depression,
anxiety and functional impairment.
- Most clients achieved significant
symptom reduction with the percent increasing as clients complete
more treatment content: 61% of clients who engage with the
trauma-focused content experience a reliable improvement in their
symptoms, and 77% who engage with the consolidation content
experience reliable improvement with an average reduction of 23
points on the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5.
- Treatment was effective for the full
range of symptom scores. Clients with higher baseline trauma
symptom scores were more likely to achieve reliable symptom
improvement than those with lower scores.
- All client types were equally likely
to achieve reliable symptom improvement: demographic
characteristics and trauma type were not predictive of engagement
with treatment or of symptom change.
Most studies of TAiCBT for PTSD focus on
specific subsets of the population, such as groups that are assumed
to have employment-related exposure to trauma, including members of
the military (or veterans), first-line responders (EMTs, ER
physicians), or law enforcement (Straud et al 2019; Stephanopoulou
et al 2020). Given that interpersonal trauma – such as physical and
sexual assault – accounts for a large proportion of PTSD cases
(Bedoya et al., 2020), research on the effectiveness of TAiCBT for
posttraumatic stress would benefit from expanding the field of
study to include broader populations, which is exactly what this
study does.
In addition to evaluating the efficacy of
CloudMD’s posttraumatic stress treatment protocol to determine
whether accessible, low-intensity treatment options would be
effective for posttraumatic stress across the full spectrum of
symptom severity, CloudMD’s researchers also explored the effect of
sample-specific factors on treatment outcomes. Researchers examined
whether pre-treatment client characteristics such as gender, age,
and trauma type, predicted differential response to
treatment.
“This study solidifies the importance of
offering therapy for posttraumatic stress alongside depression and
anxiety therapy to complement care and provide truly effective
treatment for anyone needing trauma support, not only the
first-responder community,” shared Karen Adams, President
and CEO, CloudMD. “Our data allows for better
understanding of the conditions and the impact of targeted
treatments. This helps employers make informed choices when they
evaluate workplace mental health investments by equipping them with
critical insights,” she continued.
The study demonstrates the basic effectiveness
of CloudMD’s TAiCBT program for posttraumatic stress in a
real-world heterogenous sample of help-seeking individuals. More
than half of clients experienced significant reduction in trauma
symptoms; 38% of clients experienced reductions in depression and
anxiety; and 28% of clients reported improvements in day-to-day
functioning. The program led to reductions in symptoms for clients
across the range of symptom severity. While the longer a client
spent engaged in treatment, the greater their likelihood of
achieving symptom improvement, many clients who did not complete
all phases of therapy experienced reliable symptom improvement.
These results indicate that offering low-intensity treatment for
posttraumatic stress is a viable and frequently sufficient entry
point to care.
“Our TAiCBT program enables us to break down
barriers to evidence-based care that many individuals experience,
such as lack of accessible or specific treatments. We’ve been able
to successfully treat clients with varying severity of post
traumatic symptoms,” said Dr. Leorra Newman, Clinical
Content Lead, CloudMD. “This study highlights that
targeting post traumatic symptoms directly can lead to associated
improvements in levels of anxiety, depression, and functioning -
making a true difference in our clients’ lives,” Newman added.
Accessing evidence-based mental health treatment
in a timely manner is challenging, taking 25 business days in
Canada to access typical community-based services, with wait times
for specific conditions like PTSD reaching approximately two years.
This lack of accessibility is a significant problem for
individuals, their families, employers and many other parts of
society. CloudMD provides timely access to TAiCBT within days of a
completed assessment, accelerating access, providing support
outside regular office hours, and alleviating demand on traditional
pathways.
Furthermore, the effectiveness of CloudMD’s
programs showcases the value of selecting evidence-based mental
health treatment for HR leaders investing in the well-being of
their staff. As shown in this study, CloudMD has a proven, highly
effective treatment for people with diverse histories of trauma and
demographic characteristics.
White Paper & Webinar
Details
To access the full study, please click here:
TAiCBT for posttraumatic stress: Accessible, low-intensity
treatment is effective for severe symptoms and across a wide range
of traumas.
CloudMD will be hosting a webinar to discuss the
research on September 28th, 2022 at 9am PT/12pm ET
as part of its Better Outcomes Initiative. Individuals can register
for it here: Better Outcomes Webinar
Registration.
About CloudMD Software &
Services
CloudMD is transforming the delivery of
healthcare using technology and by providing a patient-centric
approach, with an emphasis on continuity of care. By leveraging
healthcare technology, the Company is building one, connected
platform that addresses all points of a patient’s healthcare
journey and provides better access to care and improved outcomes.
Through CloudMD’s proprietary technology, the Company delivers
quality healthcare through a holistic offering including hybrid
primary care clinics, specialist care, telemedicine, mental health
support, healthcare navigation, educational resources, and
artificial intelligence (AI). CloudMD’s business is separated into
three main divisions: Clinics and Pharmacies, Digital Solution and
Enterprise Health Solutions, the Company’s fastest growing
division. CloudMD’s Enterprise Health Solutions Division has built
a leading employer healthcare solutions, including its
Comprehensive Integrated Health Services Platform, which offers one
comprehensive, digitally connected platform for educational
institutions, corporations, insurers, and advisors to better manage
the health and wellness of their students, employees, and
customers.
CloudMD currently services a direct ecosystem of
over 5,700 clinicians including, 1,800+ mental health
practitioners, 1,600+ allied health professionals, 1,400+ doctors
and nurses and covers 12 million individual lives across North
America. For more information
visit: https://investors.cloudmd.ca.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
“Karen Adams”Chief Executive Officer
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Julia BeckerVP, Investor
Relations julia@cloudmd.ca(604) 785-0850
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation
Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the
TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking
statements” and “forward-looking information” within the meaning of
Canadian securities laws. These statements are based upon
information currently available to CloudMD’s management. All
information that is not clearly historical in nature may constitute
forward‐looking statements. In some cases, forward‐looking
statements may be identified by the use of terms such as
“forecast”, “assumption” and other similar expressions or future or
conditional terms such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “could”,
“estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “may”, “plan”, “predict”,
“project”, “will”, “would”, and “should”. Forward-looking
statements contained in this news release are based on certain
factors and assumptions made by management of CloudMD based on
their current expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and
beliefs regarding their business and CloudMD does not provide any
assurance that actual results will meet management’s expectations.
While management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based
on information currently available to them, they may prove to be
incorrect. Such forward‐looking statements are not guarantees of
future events or performance and by their nature involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including those
risks described in the Company’s MD&A (which is filed under the
Company’s issuer profile on SEDAR and can be accessed at
www.sedar.com), that may cause the actual results, performance or
achievements to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward‐looking statements. Although CloudMD has attempted to
identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events
or results to differ materially from those described in
forward‐looking statements, other factors may cause actions, events
or results to be different than anticipated, estimated or intended.
There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be
accurate as actual results and future events could vary or differ
materially from those anticipated in such forward‐looking
statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on
forward‐looking information. CloudMD does not undertake to update
any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new
information or future events or otherwise, except as may be
required by applicable securities laws.
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