2023 Advisory Committee Election
Thank you to everyone who applied to join the 2023 Advisory Committee Election; the application period is now closed.
The three corporate member (private sector) and the two executive member (public sector) seats will be filled via election. Please review the eligible candidates below and prepare to vote in the online election between April 17 – 21.
Public Sector Candidates
Dr. Chandi Chandrasena, Chief Medical Officer, OntarioMD
What is motivating you to join the CHIEF Executive Forum Advisory Committee?
My passion lies in the intersection of technology and burnout. As a family physician, I deeply understand the detrimental impact of poorly designed technology and digital processes on end users, including clinicians and patients. I strongly believe that technology has the potential to alleviate burden and simplify healthcare, but it must be approached thoughtfully, with co-design and a strong focus on ‘people and process.’ Change management is often overlooked but critically important. Digital technology should not be implemented in isolation, but rather developed with consideration for the needs and priorities of the healthcare system, while addressing pain points for end users. Though it’s not an easy task, I have a solid understanding of the challenges faced by clinicians, patients, and the health system.
What unique skills, perspectives and contributions would you bring to the Advisory Committee?
I bring over 15 years of experience in developing Continuing Medical Education (CME) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programs for physicians and stakeholders in various organizations. I have served on numerous planning committees, providing a unique CPD/program perspective. Currently, I am responsible for the digital health education curriculum at OntarioMD, which has given me a comprehensive understanding of digital health tools, processes, and data analytics.
What sets me apart is my in-depth understanding of Ontario’s healthcare system as a whole, including its priorities. My interactions with the Ministry of Health and Ontario Health, as well as my background in OMA (Ontario Medical Association) advocacy, have given me a dual perspective from both a health systems lens and a community clinician lens. I often provide knowledge translation for both sides. My training in rural medicine, combined with my current practice in urban Ottawa and position based in Toronto, has given me a broad understanding of digital health needs across the province, including how digital technologies need to seamlessly integrate with different systems such as Ontario Health Teams (OHTs) and hospitals and community.
In addition, my position at OMD includes vendor engagement, business development, education and advocacy. All of which are key focuses for your organization. I also have an extensive network of colleagues in the digital health field, ranging from academia, clinical leaders, physician leaders to government, which allows me to stay well-connected and informed about the latest developments in the field.
What is motivating you to join the CHIEF Executive Forum Advisory Committee?
I would like to join the CHIEF Advisory Committee to expand my awareness and influence through learning and networking. This will also allow me to broaden my impact in the Digital Health space. I have worked in healthcare for over 23 years as a nurse, educator, leader and most recently leading digital health initiatives with the lens of improving continuity of care, patient safety and overall delivery of patient care. This opportunity will allow me to share my learnings while allowing me to broaden my own perspectives and knowledge in this area.
What unique skills, perspectives and contributions would you bring to the Advisory Committee?
I have worked as a registered nurse on the frontline providing direct patient care and have held various clinical and leadership positions including spending many years supporting quality and patient safety and clinical informatics. The experience I have gained in these roles and environments has provided me with the ability to work through complex problems by thinking both at a strategic level and an application (doer) level. This has allowed me to have an open mindset and to think outside the box and be an innovative thinker. I consider myself a collaborative team player that likes to listen and learn from others but also contributes effectively by bringing my own different perspectives and approaches to a discussion. I strongly believe in mentoring and supporting the new leaders within our healthcare system. I have expertise in Clinical Informatics, Professional Practice, Quality and Patient Safety, Quality Improvement, Accreditation, Clinical Education, Change Management, Systems Improvement and Project Management. I have completed my M.Sc. Nursing from the University of British Columbia and I am a Quality Academy graduate from BC Patient Safety and Quality Council. I have recently completed my CPHIMS and CPHIMS-CA certification from HIMSS and Digital Health Canada respectively.
What is motivating you to join the CHIEF Executive Forum Advisory Committee?
I have found CHIEF digital health forums an enriching experience over the past few years in my role as CAMH’s CMIO. Networking at its best and cutting-edge knowledge sharing and staying updated with current digital health topics. I feel strongly that I can bring the front-line clinician voice to the table, including my expertise in how best to engage them.
What unique skills, perspectives and contributions would you bring to the Advisory Committee?
As CAMH’s inaugural Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) and chief of the Hospital Medicine division, I led the creation, implementation and evaluation of multiple QI/research activities that focused on: 1- improving efficiencies of practice for clinicians and reduction of technology and Electronic Health Records (EHR) burden. 2- improving the physical health care needs of patients with severe mental illness. Skills and contribution: – Obtaining both peer-funded grants such as CIHR and non-peer-funded grants from Cancer Care Ontario novel research areas. Including publications in high-impact informatics and leadership journals. – Being invited as a guest speaker and content expert on both national and international digital health arenas. – Presenting abstracts and workshops at local, regional, national and international conferences. – Winning both national and international women’s digital health leadership awards.
What is motivating you to join the CHIEF Executive Forum Advisory Committee?
I am excited about the opportunity to share insights from the lessons learned by leaders of a large academic health system. At Hamilton Health Sciences, the research, quality, and innovation functions work closely together to create new models of care and integrate new solutions into the health system. I would like to bring the many perspectives from our healthcare providers patients and institutional leaders to influence the agenda of the Chief’s meetings.
What unique skills, perspectives and contributions would you bring to the Advisory Committee?
Ted is an expert digital health strategist with a wealth of experience in the public sector, developing global health collaborations, and the implementation of innovative clinical services leveraging digital technologies.
Ted has established an Innovation Function within Hamilton Health Sciences with an emphasis on developing new models of care empowering patients and providers. The vision addresses the need for the healthcare industry to evolve the relationships between patients, and healthcare providers using enabling digital solutions, artificial intelligence, and data science.
I have excellent collaboration skills and the ability to engage diverse stakeholders to identify strategic insights leading to novel solutions.
Private Sector Candidates
Elizabeth Keller, National Business Development Executive, Healthcare, AWS
What is motivating you to join the CHIEF Executive Forum Advisory Committee?
I love working with my healthcare peers across Canada to solve meaty challenges for our industry and spark needed dialogue.
The CHIEF Advisory Forum offers the ability to roll up my sleeves, and work with my colleagues to produce and publish thought leadership approaches on bleeding-edge topics. In the last 2 years as an Advisor, we met virtually to produce many practical tools such as 1) Virtual Care Maturity Model & Lexicon, and 2) Code Grey Guidelines for Healthcare Executives and 3) Pan Canadian Digital Health Repository. These resources were free, accessible and broadly used by our community, and that makes me happy.
We also work hard to set up engaging agendas for our in-person events, and I enjoy hearing the debate and perspectives these discussions elicit with our CHIEF members from across Canada.
What unique skills, perspectives and contributions would you bring to the Advisory Committee?
I have worked in healthcare for both private (AWS, IBM, PwC) and public sector (OntarioMD) organizations for the last 15 years; so I bring the government, clinician, consulting, and vendor perspectives to the table. I was a Digital Health Canada Board member for 6 years, and I generally aim to be disruptive and question the status quo, in a productive way.
I also volunteer extensively in the Standards community as elected Chair representing Canada globally, so I am well versed in global healthcare trends and standards (Patient Summaries, AI, Genomics, Virtual Care, etc.). I work across many countries and standards organizations to come to agreement and consensus successfully.
I also mentor and am a Guest Lecturer for Health Informatics Programs across Canada, so that helps me keep a pulse on the next gen and their perspectives.
I am known for being highly collaborative and a sucker for fun – so let’s keep that going!
What is motivating you to join the CHIEF Executive Forum Advisory Committee?
What is motivating me to join the CHIEF Executive Forum Advisory Committee is the ability to connect, inspire and create value add and partnership opportunities between the executive and corporate members. Being a corporate member of CHIEF for a number of years, I’ve participated in various activities (both virtually and in person) and I am currently actively participating on the Digital Strategies Working Group. I am grateful and feel inspired by the collective wisdom that comes together at CHIEF events. There is always great energy with members as we seek to advance the Digital Health agenda within the health sector across Canada. I feel that participating on the advisory committee is an excellent vehicle for networking and establishing valuable professional connections. The development of close working ties with other members provides an excellent venue from which to build our knowledge and experience around our industry.
What unique skills, perspectives and contributions would you bring to the Advisory Committee?
If I am selected as a member of the Advisory Committee, I feel that I can bring the clinical and IT lens in supporting our mandate and future initiatives. I am a Registered Nurse. Over my 35-year career, I have held various positions from front-line nursing to senior executive roles. As a Vice President at Healthtech, a Nordic Global Company, I strive to connect client partners to best-in-class advisory services to ensure the clinical transformation is embedded into technology adoption initiatives. My expertise spans rural, urban, teaching hospitals, and integrated regional healthcare systems. I have worked across acute, community, and primary care in a range of scenarios, including single site to complex multi-site organizations, regional hubs, and provincial initiatives.
Since joining Healthtech, I have had the opportunity expand my leadership skills and expertise in a wide variety of large-scale, small-scale, and jurisdictional projects across the healthcare sector in Canada. The last 16 years has allowed me to gain significant consulting experience in advisory services, implementation, business development, project and vendor management, governance, consensus building, current state assessments, process redesign, and clinical adoption. I can truly say that I thoroughly enjoy working in the digital health space where I can improve healthcare for all. The aspect I find most rewarding is partnering with clients on clinically led technology and advisory projects that transform care delivery for their organizations.
What is motivating you to join the CHIEF Executive Forum Advisory Committee?
I believe that digital enablement can drastically improve the healthcare system in Canada. The CHIEF Executive Forum is one of the few opportunities we have to collaborate between the public sector and private sector to enable these digital strategies both at a local and national level. This forum is integral, and I am motivated to provide meaningful contributions that ensure the group continues to drive value.
What unique skills, perspectives and contributions would you bring to the Advisory Committee?
I am a strong advocate for public/private partnerships that drive improvement in the health system and will continue to advance the role of CHIEF in the industry. I’ve been an active member of the Advisory Committee for two years and will continue to bring national and international perspectives to upcoming CHIEF events and working groups. As the Chair of the Alberta Chapter of Digital Health Canada, I am well-informed on the challenges within the Digital Health community and intend to bring these insights to all CHIEF planning sessions.
What is motivating you to join the CHIEF Executive Forum Advisory Committee?
I have long been an advocate for improving care delivery and healthcare administration and have served in numerous volunteer leadership roles in that regard. I have been a long-term advocate for the value of CHIEF and have advocated for participating in the program while working at various organizations including in my current role at Baxter.
What unique skills, perspectives and contributions would you bring to the Advisory Committee?
I am pleased to submit my submission for your consideration for joining the CHIEF Advisory Committee. I feel that my 30 years of healthcare experience, past board leadership experience, and extensive engagement experience with healthcare leaders across Canada would allow me to serve a functional role on the board while providing industry wide perceptive and additional subject matter expertise as needed.
I am active member of the Healthcare IT community and currently work at Baxter in a National Digital Health role. I have had the opportunity to work with health systems across Canada while at GE, Price Waterhouse Coopers and KMPG in the 30 years of my healthcare industry experience..
I have long been an advocate for improving care delivery and healthcare administration and have served in numerous volunteer leadership roles in that regard. At HIMSS, I have served several leadership roles both locally and internationally and was also the Board Chair within the Ontario Chapter organization. As Chair I oversaw all aspects which included governance, finance, reporting, strategy, and ongoing operations.
In addition to my involvement with HIMSS, I have served on several boards, steering committees and working groups including: the Algonquin College Digital Health Program Steering Committee, SPARK Healthcare (Stanford U & U Calgary), College of Canadian Health Leaders and Hacking Health. I engage regularly with healthcare executive leaders on trends and best practices in healthcare as it relates to changes in governance, funding programs, digital health and advancing patient-centered care delivery and patient/family empowerment.
I have experience in project/program oversight which could be valuable to the board. My most recent experience is a Provincial Hospital Information management datacentre consolidation in Newfoundland & Labrador in 2019/20 where I was senior project manager. I oversaw project managers for three Health Authorities, Bell Canada and a large systems integrator. I managed overall progress toward milestones, financial oversight, change management and conflict management. I have also been a Client Executive for several large clinical transformation projects for Epic and Meditech implementations.
I am creative, entrepreneurial, and passionate and I’m willing to roll up my sleeves to serve the team (I know from experience that hard workers on the board are not always easy to find).
