Several months ago, I found myself sitting at my desk with a sinking feeling as my supervisor told me that my contract renewal wasn’t going to happen. Budget cuts, she assured me, over and over again. It was the closest thing I’ve ever had to an out-of-body experience: losing your job is a terrible feeling. But it turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me because I landed in a place that felt almost instantly like home.

Just before Easter, I accepted a position with a company called STI Technologies Limited and – aside from the name STI – I was beyond thrilled. The company’s product, innoviCares, was something I knew I could feel proud of every day. And I do.

So what’s innoviCares? It’s a free, supplemental patient benefit plan available to any and all Canadians with a valid and unique email address. Fully funded by the pharmaceutical companies who participate in the program, innoviCares has roughly 100 brand-name medications and medical devices on the plan and offers a variety of benefits including those that cover up to the difference between a brand-name product and its generic alternative. Often referred to as a “patient choice” card, innoviCares empowers you to make the best decision for your health-care while offering financial support on those participating products.

Sounds too good to be true? It’s not – and it’s even better.

We (as in, the company I work for) recently launched a new feature for innoviCares, in the form of My Medicine Cabinet – a tool that will help you manage your current and previous medications, set refill reminders so you don’t forget to pick up your meds, as well as allow you to track your innoviCares Rx pickups to ensure that you’re adhering to your doctor’s orders. While innoviCares products are added automatically within 24 hours of being filled at pharmacy, you can manually enter anything from your daily vitamins to your Bob The Builder Toothpaste. Seriously.

But cool functionality really has nothing to do with it at the end of the day.

My Mom saved $132.00 on her prescription in July by using the innoviCares card I signed her up for – even after her private insurer had paid its portion.  My brother saved on his prescription just this week – and he has no private coverage. Patients like Troy are able to stay on the medication they need to lead happy, healthy lives. Almost daily, I receive emails, Facebook messages and Twitter DMs from patients letting us know that innoviCares has helped them. Has saved them. Has made a difference in their life, or the life of someone they love.

And that’s amazing.

Since I work for the company, I’m happy to answer any questions you may have. Just ask. And if I can’t, you can bet I’ll hunt down the person who can.