Toronto psychiatrist named Innovator of the Year for web-based mental health tool

Toronto, November 20, 2008 – Toronto psychiatrist Dr. Sam Ozersky has been honoured with the 2008 Community Based Physician Innovation Award for development of a web-based mental health tool nationally endorsed by family physicians and now in use by 300,000 Canadian employees and their families.

Dr. Ozersky, President and CEO of Mensante Corporation and Senior Consultant at University Health Network’s Mood Disorders Clinic, led the development of FeelingBetterNow®, which uses medical best practices to assist individuals and their physicians in the detection, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of mental health disorders.

The Canadian Medical Association and Practice Solutions Ltd. presented the innovation award to Dr. Ozersky at the Annual Health Informatics Awards Gala last night in Toronto. “This Award not only recognizes the tremendous effort of all the physicians in the University Health Network who were involved in creating FeelingBetterNow®, but receiving it from the Canadian Medical Association and Practice Solutions is a great honour and speaks to the practical application of the website in that physicians are using it in treating their patients,” Dr. Ozersky said.

FeelingBetterNow® has been reviewed and approved by The College of Family Physicians of Canada as a practice management tool available to assist family physicians in patient care and can be purchased only as a group program by government for its citizens and large organizations wanting to help employees stay at work and return to work sooner.

“FeelingBetter Now® incorporates the most current treatment options, accelerates our ability to make a diagnosis, and enhances patient compliance, said Dr. Elliott Halparin, former president of the Ontario Medical Association. “As a family physician, whose patients are users of the system, I have found that FeelingBetterNow® is exactly what the doctor ordered.”

FeelingBetterNow® offers troubled employees a simple and anonymous way to get help. “I think it’s a hell of a tool,” says John Mayberry, past CEO of the year and former CEO of Dofasco.

Major Canadian corporations, such as ArcelorMittal Dofasco, Healthcare Benefit Trust and TD Financial offer FeelingBetterNow® to approximately 300,000 employees and family members in Canada. “The services and expertise provided to TD – as we integrated Feeling Better Now® in our suite of tools offered to support our employees with mental health needs – have been invaluable,” said Jocelyne Achat, VP, Human Resources at TD Financial.

“MaRS has been instrumental in helping us translate a university-based innovation into a commercial product with a global reach.” said Dr. Ozersky.

About Mensante Corporation
Mensante Corporation is a privately owned Canadian corporation, founded in 2003. The Toronto-based company developed FeelingBetterNow® with the assistance of leading Canadian and American psychiatrists, psychologists, family physicians, a mental health economist, and work place mental health-care experts. FeelingBetterNow® is a valuable benefit for many, including insurance companies, employers, government agencies, professional associations, family physicians, patients and their families. The National Quality Institute of Canada has a strategic partnership with Mensante Corporation to bring the tool to as many Canadians as possible.

About MaRS
MaRS Discovery District (www.marsdd.com) is a large scale, mission driven innovation centre located in Toronto and networked across Ontario, focused on building Canada’s next generation of technology companies. MaRS works closely with entrepreneurs to grow and scale their ventures into global market leaders in life sciences and health care, information, communications and digital media technologies, cleantech, advanced materials and engineering, as well as innovative social purpose business.

For media and general queries, please contact:

Mensante Corporation
Patty Carlson
Tel: 416.928.9195
pattycarlson@mensante.com

For sales queries:
Mensante Corporation
Don Thomson
Tel: 905.465.4036
donthomson@mensante.com

MaRS
Linda Quattrin
Tel: 416.673.8104
lquattrin@marsdd.com