UpOnDigital 2024: Update on Ontario Digital Health Conference

Michael has been part of the Ontario Public Service since 2007. In this role, along with the health data and analytics portfolio he also leads the Digital Health and Information Mgmt. Strategy & Policy Branches . The Health Data portfolio oversees data collection, integration, and management services to maintain a trusted foundation of high-quality health data. The Health Analytics portfolio generates trusted and actionable insights that improve the sustainability and quality of the healthcare system. The Digital Health and Information Management portfolios are responsible for setting policy, strategy and investment management directions that help deliver the benefits of digital health to Ontarians and drive responsible use of health data for the public good. Michael is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, and his academic background includes graduate degrees from the University of Toronto, and a BSc from Carleton University.

Abhinav (“Abhi”) Kalra is an Executive Vice-President at Canada Health Infoway. Abhi Kalra is a health care technology leader with extensive public-private sector experience in designing transformation strategy for the healthcare vertical and delivering large scale, complex, outcome-based, multi-year digital transformational programs across North America, Europe and Asia. In his current role with Infoway, he leads the pan-Canadian strategy to advance our connected care system through the execution of Digital Health Interoperability program, with the goal of improving the patient and provider experience and enabling Canadians with access to their health information and improved health outcomes. Prior to this, he played a key role in defining, designing and delivering first phase of Infoway’s national e-prescribing service. Abhi held key leadership roles across North America, Europe & Asia with large corporations like Shoppers Drug Mart, Oracle, and General Electric. In these roles, Abhi built long range strategy, executed large scale multi-year transformational programs, and driven revenue growth and operational efficiency by introducing new technology products and building innovative digital solutions.

Matthew Anderson is an experienced health care leader, team-builder and advocate for positive change. Before joining Ontario Health, Matthew was President and CEO of Lakeridge Health. At Ontario Health, Matthew is leading one of the largest mergers in healthcare history bringing together 22 agencies. Matthew began his career in data analytics and IT. He became Vice President and Chief Information Officer at UHN in 2000. In 2008, he was named CEO of the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network and in 2010, became CEO of William Osler Health System. Matthew Anderson is married with three children and numerous pets.

Angela Tibando is a digital health leader with more than 25 years’ experience in health care information management. She is responsible for the development and implementation of Ontario Health’s digital strategy, ensuring it aligns with the province’s Digital First for Health strategy. Angela is also responsible for delivering high-impact digital innovations to improve the patient and provider experience, as well as outcomes. Angela has dedicated her career to digitally enabling the health system across many sectors. She has held leadership roles in acute care teaching hospitals, in regional health care organizations and has led provincial-level initiatives including the inception of the ColonCancerCheck program, the Medication Management system and Ontario’s first paperless electronic prescribing pilot program. In her current role, Angela has formed a team of digital health leaders and specialists from 22 provincial agencies to enable Ontario Health’s mandate for integrated and coordinated health care through digital and virtual solutions. Angela holds an MBA from Athabasca University, has earned the Certified Professional in Healthcare and Information Management Systems (CPHIMS-CA) designation, and completed the executive leadership program at the Richard Ivey School of Business.

Dr. Alarakhia is: a Family Physician at the Centre for Family Medicine Family Health Team; CEO of the eHealth Centre of Excellence; Assistant Clinical Professor at McMaster University; Adjunct Professor, University of Waterloo; Faculty Digital Health and Innovation Lead at McMaster University, Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine (Waterloo Campus). Dr. Alarakhia was awarded the Digital Health Executive of the Year Award in 2019 and the College of Family Physicians of Canada Award of Excellence in 2018 and 2022. He has also earned a Champion Belt for completion of the Digital Lean Sigma Black Belt. Dr. Alarakhia and the eHealth Centre of Excellence won the Innovation Award in 2022 for its work on a software robot to support COVID-19 immunization documentation in the EMR from the Greater Kitchener Waterloo Commerce of Chamber. The eHealth Centre of Excellence received a CMA Joule Innovation Grant and an AFHTO Team Award in 2020, as well as a Patient Care Innovation Team Award at the 2019 Canadian Health Informatics Awards and a 2019 Ingenious Award from Information Technology Association of Canada.

Shafique Shamji is currently the President & CEO of the Ontario Clinical Imaging Network (OCINet). OCINet is an independent, not-for-profit corporation sponsored by Ontario Health in April 2022 with the merger of three diagnostic imaging repositories (i.e., HDIRS, NEODIN, SWODIN). OCINet enables the secure storage and retrieval of millions of image records across multiple repositories; supports hundreds of hospitals and independent health facilities; and connects thousands of physicians, and specialist’s province wide. This seamless & authorized sharing of clinical imaging supports the movement and treatment of patients, reduces repeat scans and harmful radiation exposure, and decreases wait times and overcrowding. Mr. Shamji has over 25 years of experience in Technology, Business, Healthcare, Software Development, Telecommunications, and Information Services. Mr. Shamji was previously the EVP and CIO at The Ottawa Hospital; Chief Operating Officer at Macadamian Technologies headquartered in Québec with offices in Toronto, California, Armenia and Romania; President of Privasoft Corporation, headquartered in Ottawa with offices in Virginia and Brentford, UK; and President of Time iCR in Ottawa, which was acquired by Rogers Communications where Mr. Shamji served as the Vice-President of Professional Services. Shafique has also spent several years in the US where he was Chief Operating Officer of TeleHub Network Services in Chicago; President of LD Exchange in California; and Vice-President of Network Services for Fidelity in California. Prior to that, Mr. Shamji held several senior level positions in Toronto with AT&T Canada, Unitel Communications and Nortel. Mr. Shamji is an Associate Professor at the Telfer School of Business, a current Board member at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, a former Board member for FOCUS Canada (provides global humanitarian assistance) and an active member of the Aga Khan Volunteer Corps of Ottawa. He has also served on many Boards including: TeleHub Network Services, Time iCR, Privasoft and The Ottawa Hospital. Mr. Shamji has a Computer Engineering degree from McMaster University in Hamilton and received his Professional Engineering designation in 1991.

Robert Fox joined OntarioMD (OMD) as CEO in January 2022. Rob is an innovative health care executive with 25 years of experience leading large teams, defining health policy and enhancing the health care system. Rob has held senior positions at both TELUS Health and Cisco Systems, responsible for digital transformation of health care delivery across Canada to improve patient outcomes and experiences through technology.

Dr. Michael Heffernan is a staff cardiologist at the Oakville Trafalgar Hospital. He obtained his honours bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Genetic Engineering from Mc Master University in 1987. He has a Doctorate in Medical Genetics from the University of Toronto and completed medical training, Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the University of Toronto. He is currently a Staff Cardiologist at Halton Healthcare and is also the Director of the Oakville Hospital’s Heart Function Clinic and the Medical Director of Research at Halton Healthcare. In addition, Dr. Heffernan is an Assistant Clinical Professor at McMaster University and the University of Toronto. Dr. Heffernan’s research activities have been widely published in academic and peer-reviewed journals including the New England Journal of Medicine.

Tommy Cheung is the Founder and CEO of Gotodoctor.ca, a leading technology platform that transforms healthcare access across public and private services. Gotodoctor.ca has a network of 250+ integrated pharmacies and medical clinics (Enhanced Care Clinic), and delivers virtual and in-person physician care and other digital health benefit services across Canada. The team has also developed one-of-a-kind Care Access Technology, called Service Engine, that can combine clinical, insurance and service provider intelligence to expedite access to care for its members. With over 25 years of industry management experience, including at publicly traded retailers, ministry of health, pharmaceutical institutions and provincial professional association, Tommy has established a number of innovations and received multiple recognitions for his work. A graduate from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tommy also completed his Master of Business Administration at Schulich School of Business at York University and Information Systems Management program at Ryerson University. He has also served as the Board of Directors for the Ontario Pharmacists’ Association.

Kevin Wong is the Executive Director for Ontario at Novartis Canada and leads a team that is focused on partnership opportunities and innovative models that augment healthcare systems with key stakeholders in Ontario across Novartis’ therapeutic areas. He has over 15 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry having held various management roles in consulting, government, pharmacy benefits management and retail pharmacy, and is a recipient of a number of awards for his contributions. As a second generation Canadian and pharmacist, Kevin is passionate about applying kaizen principles to areas of the Canadian healthcare system that can be improved or modernized; which began with his involvement in the national expansion of vaccine administration by pharmacists during the H1N1 pandemic. Kevin completed his MBA from both the Kellogg School of Management and the Schulich School of Business. He received his Bachelor of Pharmacy from the University of Toronto and continues to be a licensed pharmacist in Ontario. In his spare time, Kevin enjoys travelling with his wife and two children, and the occasional game of hide and seek.

A senior national security expert known for developing, delivering and deploying next generation mission capabilities that transformed operational models and revolutionized mission execution. He currently serves as a senior AWS executive responsible for delivering cloud enabled mission solutions to global government customers who are transforming their ability to execute critical national security missions with the highest levels of performance, scale and security for their sensitive, restricted and classified workloads. Former Associate Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Led a wide range of espionage missions including cyber operations, open-source collection, secure global communications, mission information systems, data curation, and data science. He also held senior executive roles ranging from research and development to clandestine operations and led teams that developed, delivered, and deployed satellite and airborne reconnaissance systems, next generation collection platforms, clandestine technical collection systems, advanced targeting tools and tradecraft. His direct role in high profile counterterrorism efforts has been recognized by multiple Presidents, Congressional Committees and foreign partner leadership. Highly respected emissary to international governments, alliances and coalitions for defense, counternarcotics, counterproliferation, and law enforcement missions.

Elizabeth Keller is a leading executive, strategist and integrator in Canadian digital health and a recognized health expert internationally. She was named as one of the Top 10 Women in Digital Health in Canada. As the National Canadian Business Development Leader for Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Public Sector (Healthcare), Elizabeth works with government and public sector clients to transform their businesses and improve citizen experiences. She has also worked with some of the largest private sector consulting firms in the world (IBM and PwC), and in the public sector for 10 years as VP @OntarioMD. Elizabeth volunteers her time and expertise extensively in the industry as an elected advisor to CHIEF (Canada’s Health Informatics Executive Forum) and the Head of Delegation for Canada (Digital Health Standards) for the Standards Council of Canada. Elizabeth also guest lectures at University of Toronto and University of Regina, and enjoys mentoring and helping the next generation of leaders in this exciting space of AI, Healthcare and Innovation!

Andriana Lukich is the Director, Digital Solutions at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. She holds a HBSc Kinesiology and an MBA from McMaster University, a PMP certification and is Prosci Change Management certified. Throughout her decade of healthcare experience, she has held multiple roles all focused on leading change initiatives and supporting staff and physicians through transformational projects.

Tara Coxon is the Vice-President and Chief Information Officer at St Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. During her 25 years of healthcare management experience, Tara has led a number of transformational change initiatives with extensive experience in the design and implementation of digital health solutions. Tara holds a BSc from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from the DeGroote School of Business.

Dr. Peter Bak is responsible for the implementation of the digital vision, on-going operations of that vision, driving continuous innovation and transformation, and building the recently founded Humber River Health Research Institute. With over 30 years of experience in healthcare informatics, IT operations, software development, product commercialization, consulting and executive leadership, Peter has contributed to the Canadian healthcare system in many ways: Creating awareness of digital transformation and Command Centres around the world • Contributing to the Ontario Health Cyber Security framework and resilience implementation • Influencing the Ontario Health EMR interoperability strategy and implementation • Driving 100% digital adoption of medical imaging in Canada as part of the Canada Health Infoway team • Assisting numerous hospitals with imaging and IT strategies • Lecturing on Technology in Healthcare • Peter has a PhD in applied engineering from Imperial College, London. He has published various papers on health care-related topics. His skill and contribution to the healthcare industry are reflected in his recognition as the Canadian public sector CIO of the Year for 2016.

Dr. Steve Pomedli is a family physician in Toronto, and the Digital Navigation Physician Lead for the East Toronto Family Practice Network, one of the anchor partners for the East Toronto Health Partners OHT.

Mehran joined WoodGreen in 2001 in the role of chief information officer. He is responsible for the IT strategy, operations, processes, IT infrastructure and Privacy at WoodGreen.

He oversees all aspects of information technology, information security, data processing, application development, analytics, network, computing, servers, storage, collaboration, infrastructure and privacy across the entire agency and its business units. Under Mehran’s leadership, WoodGreen’s IT has developed and grown to a complex group that supports WoodGreen and number of other agencies, with over 50 sites.

Mehran led WoodGreen’s private-public sector partnership role in developing, implementing and operating the Housing Opportunities and Marketplace Exchange (H.O.M.E.) portal. The H.O.M.E. portal won the prestigious 2016 ISM’s “Application of New Technologies” Award. The ISM Awards recognize innovation in service delivery, application of new technologies, and collaboration across traditional boundaries and excellence in individual leadership in the application of information technology.

Mehran serves as a volunteer member with the Ontario Ministry of Health HRIS advisory committee and served as a volunteer member with the Finance and Audit committee at Mackenzie Health.

Colleen Neil is serving as the Lead for All Nations Health Partners and the Executive Director of the Sunset Country Family Health Team. With a passion for community well-being, Colleen has emerged as a trailblazer in fostering holistic and inclusive approaches to healthcare delivery in Kenora – situated in the Northwestern Region of Ontario. In her role as Lead for All Nations Health Partners, Colleen spearheads collaborative initiatives aimed at addressing health disparities and promoting culturally competent care. Her commitment to understanding and incorporating the diverse needs of various communities has contributed significantly to the organization's success in fostering a more inclusive healthcare landscape. As the Executive Director of the Sunset Country Family Health Team, Colleen brings visionary leadership to a dynamic team of healthcare professionals. Under her guidance, the team has excelled in providing comprehensive and patient-centered care to the community.
Colleen Neil's dedication to the All Nations Health Partners and the Sunset Country Family Health Team reflects her unwavering commitment to creating a healthier and more connected community. Her leadership style, marked by collaboration, empathy, and a focus on community-driven solutions, continues to make a profound impact on the landscape of healthcare in the region.

Brendan Kwolek is the Chief Information and Digital Officer at Halton Healthcare, where he has led several strategic initiatives related to cybersecurity, virtual care and improving the customer and client experience. Through more than twenty years of experience in healthcare information technology, he has consistently demonstrated a desire to elevate technology performance above the status quo. Known for his ability to “see the big picture”, Brendan has significant experience with planning and implementation with Hospital Information Systems (HIS) and has recently championed the development of Halton Healthcare’s new Digital Health & Technology roadmap. Passionate about the intersection of technology and healthcare, Brendan is a past-Chair of the ‘Health Information Management Systems Society’ (HIMSS) Cybersecurity, Privacy & Security committee. Brendan holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from York University, is a Project Management Professional (PMP).

Noralyn Baluyot is a distinguished healthcare executive, currently serving as the President and Chief Executive Officer at TransForm Shared Service Organization. With a career spanning over 25 years in the health system, Noralyn has earned a reputation as a seasoned professional, combining her background as a nurse and healthcare administrator with her leadership skills to drive transformative change in the industry. Prior to assuming her role at TransForm, Noralyn was a partner at Deloitte, where she made significant contributions to healthcare across Canada and the U.S. Her expertise in leading global enterprise- wide complex clinical transformations has resulted in sustainable improvements within healthcare organizations. In her current capacity, Noralyn collaborates closely with five hospitals and five Ontario Health Teams in the Ontario west region. Her focus on delivering digital health and Supply Chain Services has positioned her as a key figure in advancing healthcare systems. Notably, she holds the position of co-chair of the Ontario Oracle Health Collaborative, overseeing 10 instances of Oracle Health at 63 hospitals. Additionally, Noralyn serves as the co-chair, alongside Project Amplifi, of the Ontario eHUB collaborative, a health information exchange (HIE) facilitating the seamless exchange of information among hospitals using Oracle Health and long-term care facilities.

Dr. Ilan Lenga is Chief Information Officer at Lakeridge Health Hospital and the Chief Medical Information Officer for the Central East Hospitals Cluster. He has a passion for medical information management and technology, promoting standardized care and improving data quality. He has had a key leadership role in the procurement, implementation and governance of the regional CIinical Information System in the Central East region of Ontario. He serves as the chair of the EpicHarmony Ontario Collaborative CCIO Council. He is the digital health lead for the Ontario Health Team in Durham Region, Ontario, advancing virtual care, data sharing, and analytics throughout that region. Dr. Lenga is a computer programmer and has written and developed health care related computer and mobile phone applications. He is also a practicing nephrologist at Lakeridge Health, a lecturer at the University of Toronto, and an adjunct assistant professor at Queen’s University.

Before joining Ontario Health, Sacha was Chief Medical Innovation Officer and Interim Executive Lead of Academics at Women’s College Hospital (WCH), as well as the F. M. Hill Chair in Health Systems Solutions and the Division Head of Cardiology. He is also a staff cardiologist at University Health Network, a scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, and an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto. In 2013, Sacha co-founded the WCH Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care, where he served as Director until 2019. He has published more than 140 peer-reviewed papers in prestigious international journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and the British Medical Journal.

Dr. Sarah Muttitt has more than thirty years of healthcare experience with over twenty years in the eHealth field. Sarah graduated from medicine at the University of Alberta and completed a Master of Business Administration. Sarah was VP of Innovation and Adoption at Canada Health Infoway before joining Singapore’s Ministry of Health as CIO, responsible for the implementation of the National Electronic Health Record. Upon her return to Canada, Sarah served as CMIO at Alberta Health Services and in 2015, Sarah was appointed VP & CIO at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. In January 2020, Dr. Muttitt was appointed the joint Vice President and CIO for both SickKids and the University Health Network (UHN).

Amelia Hoyt is the Chief Information Officer at Michael Garron Hospital - Toronto East Health Network, and is the Digital Co-Chair of the East Toronto Health Partners Ontario Health Team (ETHP OHT). Amelia is a passionate and collaborative leader with a focus on partnership and innovation in healthcare. Amelia's experience spans over 23 years across healthcare IT, information management, project management and operations.