Webinar Wednesday – Nova Scotia and YourHealth NS – Empowering Citizens with their own health data
Nova Scotia is leading the way in Canada to truly empower and enable citizens to access their health information anywhere, any time through the YourHealthNS app. This represents a significant milestone in advancing connected data sources and systems through data interoperability standards. Nova Scotia is accelerating progress as per the Canada Health Infoway Pan-Canadian Interoperability Roadmap that was released in 2023.
Hear from Nova Scotia Health’s CIO, Scott McKenna, about how they are leveraging internal support and strong and positive collaboration with partners, including innovative industry leaders, to effect change. He will share key learnings and insights that could be helpful to other provinces as they continue their respective digital health and interoperability journeys.
Presented by:
Scott McKenna, Chief Information Officer, Nova Scotia Health & IWK
Scott McKenna assumed the role of Nova Scotia Health’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) in October 2022. Scott came to Nova Scotia Health from his role as Chief Information Officer for both Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, having spent the majority of his 32-year career working for federal government at the national level.
As Chief Information Officer for Nova Scotia Health, Scott champions the Digital Health Strategy and is responsible for the planning and execution of the Information Management and Information Technology (IM/IT) strategy and operations. He also provides leadership and support to the IWK. Scott collaborates across health and digital sectors with internal and external partners to create and achieve our digital health strategy.
As CIO with Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, he led the development and delivery of their first digital strategy in the modernization of program delivery. He also led the development and execution of Health Canada’s data strategy as well as facilitated and enabled programs in developing business solutions through their Innovation Hub. He was responsible for enhancing and maintaining all infrastructure, development, and delivery of applications, and working with partners across government to enable the two lead departments in the Government of Canada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Scott has significant background in health services and navigating complex public sector infrastructure across Canada, developing a vision for digital, modernization and innovation while leading people and culture through transformational change initiatives. He brings leadership depth, developing digital and IM/IT strategy and ensuring it is aligned with the overall business strategy of the organization while leading the delivery of diverse operational areas to ensure IM/IT services are available to our teams and partners.
Saurabh Popat, Director of Business Development, Telus Health
Saurabh is a diversified tri-sector health care leader with over twenty-five years of experience across the private, public and not-for-profit health care sectors.
He is currently the Director of Business Development, Public Sector for TELUS Health with a focus on supporting, enabling and advancing strong collaboration and partnerships with provincial governments to drive digital health care across provincial health care ecosystems and improve quintuple aim outcomes. Saurabh also serves as the Vice-President of The Empire Club of Canada.
Saurabh has served in various leadership roles across health care including the medtech sector with Abbott Diabetes Care and Baxter Canada, in the pharmaceutical sector with GlaxoSmithKline and Eli Lilly Canada, and public sector with the Ontario Government, having served two Ontario Ministers of Health, where he lead health system transformation portfolios including digital health, health innovation, strategic procurement, pharmaceuticals, pharmacy and laboratory services modernization.
Saurabh has also served in various governance roles including Board Member at MEDEC, Board Member of the Canadian American Business Council, Co-Chair of the Digital Health Committee at Medtech Canada, Chair of the Ontario Committee at MEDEC and Member of the Ontario Medtech Working Group advising Ontario Health Innovation Council.