Program/Scheduled Speakers:

View all the presentations from this year's Summit
in the CHI Summit Workbook (7.5 MB).

Alex Jadad, Chief Innovator and Founder, Center for Global eHealth Innovation

Title:
"Consumer Health Informatics: Supporting the high-touch"

Abstract:
One of the greatest fears for the public regarding the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is the risk of de-humanization of the health system. This fear is well founded, as the introduction of ICTs have led to reduced levels of direct human interaction in almost any other sector of society, from grocery shopping to banking. As every health system struggles to meet increasing demand for services with limited resources, the relationship with the public has already suffered. In this presentation, Dr. Jadad will illustrate opportunities for ICTs not only to empower consumers, but also to re-vitalize their relationship with health professionals and to meet needs that go beyond those that could be addressed through face-to-face interactions.

Bio:
Dr. Jadad's mission is to help improve health and wellness for all, thorough information and communication technologies (ICTs).

Born and educated in Colombia, he obtained his medical degree in 1986, specializing in anesthesiology. By the time he was 20 years of age and still a medical student, he became a leading medical expert on cocaine in Colombia and an internationally sought after speaker. In 1990 he joined the University of Oxford (Balliol College and the Oxford Pain Unit), where he obtained a doctorate in pain management, knowledge synthesis and meta-analysis.

In 1995, he moved to Canada and joined McMaster University, where he was Chief of the Health Information Research Unit; Director of the McMaster Evidence-based Practice Centre; Co-Director of the Canadian Cochrane Network and Centre; Associate Medical Director of the Program in Evidencebased Care for Cancer Care Ontario and Professor in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics.

In 2000, Alex moved to Toronto, where he led the creation of the Centre for Global eHealth Innovation, a setting designed as a simulator of the future, to study and optimize the use of ICTs before their widespread introduction into the health system and society at large. He is also spearheading the development of the Global eHealth and eWellness Network Initiative (GENI, pronounced as "genie"), a unique group of individuals, organizations, tools and facilities working in harmony to promote research, development, education, policy, funding, recognition and commercialization activities related to the uses of ICTs to promote optimal levels of health and wellness, worldwide. He is developing virtual clinical tools to transform the encounter between patients and health professionals, new methods to evaluate the impact of ICTs in society, interactive tools to promote knowledge translation and mentorship of health professionals and the public, and a platform to support virtual communities, to respond to major public health threats (e.g., obesity, pandemics) and to enable the public (particularly young people) to shape the health system and society.

Dr. Jadad's numerous awards, including a 'National Health Research Scholars Award', by Health Canada (1997), one of 'Canada's Top 40 Under 40' awards (1998), a 'Premier's Research Excellence Award' (1999), the New Pioneers Award in Science and Technology (2002). In 2001 and 2002, he was featured by Time Magazine as one of the new Canadians who will shape the country in the 21st century, and as one of the leading medical researchers in the country. In 2004, he received the Canadian Latin Achievement Award, as one of the people who have made important contributions to the relationship between Canada and the Hispanic world. In 2005, he was selected by the Top 40 Under 40 alumni as one of "The Best of the Best" for achievements in Health and Science, and by his peers in Colombia as the scientist who probably has had the greatest impact in the country's history.

Jay G. Mercer MD, FCFP, Medical Director, Practice Solutions Web Services Inc.

Title:
Using Web Based Tools to Help Patients Achieve Optimal Clinical Outcomes

Abstract:
Tools to help patients manage chronic disease information are becoming more prevalent on the web.  However, there are numerous questions about whether or not they will be used by seniors and if they will change outcomes. Using examples from tools that he has helped to develop and deploy, Dr. Mercer will discuss how vital it is to integrate the tools into the provider’s practice to achieve optimal outcomes, and he will relate his experience that demonstrates that the age of the patient is certainly no barrier.  He will also describe some of the other tools that are being prepared for deployment and how they are likely to impact the care partnership.

Bio:
Dr. Jay Mercer divides his time between being a family physician in a fully automated office in Ottawa and as Medical Director of cma.ca, the Canadian Medical Association’s Internet portal. In these roles he has been able to champion the development of several innovative web based chronic disease management tools and then deploy them in the clinical setting.  He also lectures and writes on the use of technology in direct patient care, as well as teaching residents in the University of Ottawa Family Medicine program.

Michael Martineau, Vice President, Public Sector Research & eHealth Practice Lead, Branham

Title:
The Internet Changes Everything: Lessons from Other Industries

Abstract:
While we may take banking on-line, printing our boarding passes at home, and submitting our taxes electronically for granted, it wasn’t that long ago that most of the organizations with which we now conduct business on-line scoffed at early attempts by their competitors to do so.  Despite what their marketing campaigns may suggest to the contrary, many of these organizations did not willingly embrace the Internet.  Rather, they were pushed to do so by their clients.   Like dominoes, these organizations quickly fell into line when it became apparent that consumers were eagerly embracing the on-line services developed by early innovators. 
Mr. Martineau’s presentation describes how the Internet, the personal computer, and consumerism have combined to transform the manner in which organizations in various industries interact with their clients. The presentation will explore how these organizations have aggressively examined their business processes to determine which ones involve their clients and, having identified these processes, used information and communication technologies to improve service delivery while reducing costs.   Lessons learned by these organizations will be identified and offered for consideration by the health sector.

Bio:
As one of Canada’s Internet pioneers, Mr. Martineau was a founding executive with two of Canada’s leading Internet Service Providers and witnessed first hand the initial reluctance and eventual embrace of the Internet by clients in a variety of industries.   Mr. Martineau is now Vice President, Public Sector Research and eHealth Practice Lead with Branham Group Inc., a Canadian market research and strategic planning firm serving IT vendor.  In his current role, Mr. Martineau is responsible for defining Branham’s eHealth research agenda and translating this agenda into a variety of information services for Branham clients.  Most recently, Mr. Martineau authored Branham’s second annual syndicated study on the current and future use of IT by the Canadian health sector. 

Tom Jones, Chief Medical officer, Tolven Healthcare Innovations

Title:
Challenges in creating useful electronic personal health records

Abstract:
In July 2000, the NCVHS (National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics) prepared a document for the US Secretary of Health and Human Services entitled Report on Uniform Data Standards for Patient Medical Record Information. Although this report is mostly concerned about the importance of standards for healthcare information, it contains important statements that are relevant to Personal health Records (PHRs). Among them are the following:

• Patient medical record information (PMRI) is information about a single patient.
• Healthcare professionals generate this information as a direct result of interaction with the patient, or with individuals who have personal knowledge of the patient, or with both.
• PMRI includes patient demographics, health history, details of present illness or injury, orders for care and treatment, observations, records of medication administration, diagnoses/problems, allergies, and other healthcare information.
• PMRI facilitates the creation of a lifetime health record for individuals.

In a later report (Personal Health Records and Personal Health Record Systems, February 2006), the NCVHS catches the thread of a “lifetime record for individuals” and weaves a useful fabric for PHRs and underlines both the potential for and the challenges for PHRs in the following statement.

The greatest opportunities for improving health and health care lie in enabling information exchange between the three dimensions (patient care, population health, and personal health) of the national health information infrastructure. The full potential of PHR systems will not be realized until they are capable of widespread exchange of information with EHRs and other sources of personal and other health data.

A recent statement by HIMSS (HIMSS Personal Health Records Definition and Position Statement, June 2007) appears to reflect these same principles. There is a growing consensus around the functionality of PHRs.

HIMSS supports the development of interoperable ePHRs which are interactive and use a common data set of electronic health information and e-health tools. HIMSS envisions ePHRs that are universally accessible and layperson comprehensible, and that may be used as a lifelong tool for managing relevant health information that is owned, managed and shared by the individual or his or her legal proxy(s). The ideal ePHR would receive data from all constituents that participate in the individual’s healthcare; allow patients or proxies to enter their own data (such as journals and diaries); and designate read-only access to the ePHR (or designated portions thereof).

Many other organizations including the Markle Foundation and the California Healthcare Foundation have issued important white papers regarding PHRs; all have encouraged their development and use. All have lamented the laggardly implementation of PHRs.

In this presentation, we will review the key functions of PHRs that appear to have widespread endorsement. We will then discuss the obstacles that have prevented widespread adoption of PHRs. We will conclude by analyzing the key requirements for interoperability and discuss why those requirements have proved to be among the most difficult to meet.

Bio:
Following his graduation from medical school at Stanford University, Dr. Jones joined the University of Chicago and was there from 1969 until 1995, first as a house staff officer and then as a member of the faculty of the Department of Medicine. As part of the development of the infrastructure for primary care education and clinical activity, Dr. Jones and his colleagues at the University developed the Centennial Patient Care Workstation, a model for allowing clinicians to enjoy the benefits of new information technology. This project was very important in shaping his beliefs that sensitive deployment of commercially available software could provide great benefit to, and enhance the efficiency of practicing clinicians. Dr. Jones' clinical expertise was recognized when, in 1995, he was named by Chicago area physicians as one of the 35 most outstanding general internists in Chicago (The Best Doctors in America, Woodward and White). His interest in clinical informatics grew out of both his clinical practice experience and his teaching experience. He received the Quantrell award for excellence in teaching in 1992; this award is the nation's oldest teaching award and is given by the students at the University of Chicago.

In 1995, Dr. Jones joined Oacis Healthcare Systems where his role allowed him to focus more deeply on the clinical functionality of applied informatics. During his 5 years at Oacis, he had the opportunity to work closely with some of the founding members of the HL7 organization. Over the course of his years of teaching and subsequently at Oacis, he developed sensitivity regarding how clinicians make critical decisions based on clinical information. Understanding how clinicians communicate with one another led to an appreciation of how the standardization of clinical information fostered more rapid and accurate communication.

In 2000, Dr. Jones joined Oracle where he provided the clinical leadership for Oracle's Healthcare Strategy group, including the development of Oracle's Healthcare Transaction Base. During his 5 years at Oracle, Dr. Jones met with provider organizations, payor organizations, academic institutions, healthcare informatics standards organizations, government representatives and pharmaceutical firms in 34 countries. He has been active in deliberations of the European Commission's Directorate-General Information Society and has written major white papers for the EC.

In 2004, Dr. Jones began his participation in the Interoperability Consortium (IC) where he worked with colleagues from Accenture, CSC, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel and Microsoft. He chaired the Technical Committee of the IC and was responsible for the technical and architectural sections (including the discussions of standards) of the IC's response to the ONCHIT RFI. He also participates in the CalRHIO (California Regional Health Information Organization) as a member of the Clinical Working Group.

In February 2006, Dr. Jones left Oracle to become a founding partner and Chief Medical Officer of Tolven Inc., a start-up company dedicated to furthering the development and use of open source software for healthcare.

Gary Folker, xwave

Title:
The Chronic Need for Connectivity: Helping today’s aging healthcare consumers help themselves

Abstract:
Canada’s population steadily ages, and alongside that collective aging process comes the steady increase of Canadians suffering from chronic illness—a figure now estimated around 16 million. At the same time, Canada is confronted with imminent shortages of doctors and nurses, certain to put continued mounting pressure both on healthcare professionals and on their patients. This combination of an older, needier population and increasingly scarce resources is prompting a nation-wide re-evaluation and reform of our healthcare system. Governments are looking for ways to improve public access to care, reduce wait times for treatment, and better manage the seemingly exponential growth of expenditures. Providers, meanwhile, are seeking solutions that will help manage chronic disease and, with it, help control the tremendous cost of treating it. Among the major concerns for patients are the worsening of disease and the prevention of complications. Healthcare professionals know that actively engaging patients is key to effective chronic disease management and enabling the best possible outcomes.

Thus a growing number of professionals in this sector are recognizing that pivotal to its reform will be a shift in our healthcare paradigm, from a traditional focus on treatment to a system that actively promotes prevention and the improved management of chronic illnesses. Studies show that many chronic illnesses can be prevented or delayed by altering unhealthy behaviors at an early age. It’s through improved education and self-care that consumers will be equipped to make the kinds of choices that help prevent chronic disease or minimize its effects.

Add to this the fact that today’s baby boomers, often caring for aged parents and beginning to face age-related conditions themselves, want to be more involved in their healthcare decision-making and, moreover, have access to an ever-widening array of online services and network infrastructure that form the foundation for remote healthcare communication and personal health management.

Bio:
Gary Folker is Managing Director of Business Development for xwave, a division of Bell Aliant and one of the largest providers of healthcare information and communications technology in Canada. He is playing an integral role in xwave ’s consortium for Quebec’s provincial electronic health record (EHR) project. With additional experience that includes helping to implement Canada’s first fully-integrated electronic patient chart and creating the largest document-capture facility in North America, Gary offers his perspective on individual-centric health information and education, outlining some of the components—bidirectional communication; home-based telehealth; an individual health record (IHR)—that are necessary to both foster and support the management of healthcare information on the part of today’s increasingly aware healthcare consumer.  

Shelagh Maloney, Executive Director, External Liaison at Canada Health Infoway and President, COACH

Title:
Extreme makeover: the electronic health record, patient-centred care and the transformation of health care

Abstract:
Reduced wait times. Increased patient participation in health care. Efficient chronic disease management. Improved access to care in remote and rural communities. Fewer incidents of adverse drug interactions. Better prescribing practices.

This is the future of health care in Canada. Through a national stakeholder engagement by Canada Health Infoway, a roadmap has been developed to advance Canada’s next generation of health care.  Patient access to quality care features prominently in this vision of the future.

Ms. Maloney’s  presentation will look at the foundational elements of 2015: Advancing Canada’s next generation of health care and the five key priorities.  The presentation will focus on the role of the consumer and how Infoway’s approach is addressing an evolving healthcare environment that will include greater involvement of the healthcare consumer. 

Bio:
Shelagh Maloney is Executive Director, External Liaison at Canada Health Infoway.  In this capacity she leverages national and international partnerships and alliances with both the private and public sectors to identify and develop new business opportunities and raise the profile and impact of Canada Health Infoway.    
Prior to joining Infoway, Shelagh held a number of senior management roles in both the private and public sector.  She was instrumental in establishing Canada’s first remote health information management services organization.  In her role as Director, Information Management at the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) Shelagh was responsible for the development and maintenance of CIHI’s national databases in addition to leading the Institute’s national and international health information technology standards projects including the Partnership for Health Informatics Standards.  She was founding chair of HL7 Canada and responsible for coordinating Canada’s contribution to the International Standards Organization (ISO) Technical Committee on Medical Informatics.

Shelagh is currently the President and Board Chair of COACH, Canada’s Health Informatics Association.

Matt Anderson, Vice-President, University Health Network; Chief Information Officer, SIMS Partnership; eHealth Lead, Toronto Central LHIN

Title:
Engaging Patients Using Information Technology: The UHN Experience

Abstract:
With the emergent technology of the personal health record, consumers are transforming health care. One way many organizations are beginning to address patients’ demands for access to information is through the creation of Patient Portals. Structured similar to an online banking website, a portal is a web based tool that integrates with an electronic health record to support patients in the management of their own health care. This approach shifts away from traditional practice, empowering the patient to be a member of his/her own health care team.  

While a patient portal provides a single touch-point that unifies the continuum of care, what cost befalls the organization? Can health care organizations who often struggle to achieve an electronic environment, respond and provide patients access? This session explores the rise of consumerism and the financial, legal, technological and other challenges faced by health care organizations to respond to and provide patients access.

Bio:
Matthew is vice-president and chief information officer for University Health Network (UHN), Canada’s largest acute-care teaching hospital. In this role, he is responsible for leading the organization’s information management strategy, which aims to improve the patient experience, achieve the best clinical outcomes and ensure accountability through information and technology. He is also charged with leading the organization’s complement of information services. In May 2004, Matthew began to serve as chief information officer for the Toronto Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) as part of a joint initiative integrating UHN with the Toronto CCAC at the information systems level. This initiative was later expanded to include St. John’s Rehabilitation Hospital, Bridgepoint Health and the North York Community Care Access Centre. While developing an information systems operating plan for the partnership, Matthew drives collaboration, consistency, standards and cooperation to facilitate the electronic sharing of key referral information among community providers and partner hospitals. In May 2005, Matthew received Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 award.

Organizing committee:
Khaled El Emam, University of Ottawa
Gunther Eysenbach, University of Toronto
Michael Martineau, Branham Group
Bill Pascal, Canadian Medical Association

For more information contact:

Khaled El Emam, PhD
Faculty of Medicine
University of Ottawa
kelemam@uottawa.ca
www.ehealthinformation.ca