For Stephen Huesing Scholarship recipient Karishini Ramamoorthi (University of Toronto), the promise of digital health is about understanding how technologies can be implemented in ways that meaningfully improve healthcare.

Discovering a connection

Karishini’s interest in digital health was shaped by her firsthand experience navigating the transition between primary care and acute care. Seeing the challenges that can arise when patients and information move between different areas of the healthcare system revealed an opportunity: digital health can help create greater connection between data, technology, and healthcare delivery. 

That experience sparked an interest in implementation science—the process of taking an idea from conception to real-world application and understanding what’s needed for it to create lasting impact.

“The work that we do is not just about the technologies that we build, but it’s also about the ability that it has to transform the lives of patients and clinicians.” 

Karishini believes that this is at the heart of digital health innovation. A promising technology or solution only reaches its full potential when it can be effectively integrated into healthcare environments and ultimately improve the lives of the people who use it.

Her perspective reflects a broader shift in digital health, where innovation isn’t solely about what can be built, but also about how effectively it can be adopted, scaled, and sustained.

Prioritizing collaboration 

Karishini sees tremendous potential in Canada’s digital health community to advance this work. With healthcare leaders and professionals bringing diverse perspectives to the table, collaboration can help create healthcare systems that are more responsive to the diverse needs of Canadians and their health needs. She credits her mentors and colleagues with challenging her perspectives and reinforcing the importance of perseverance and creativity, in servicing the advancement of digital health. 

A path forward

Reflecting on her career journey, she says digital health is ultimately not just about the technologies being developed, but rather their ability to transform experiences and outcomes. Her vision speaks to an important part of Canada’s digital health future, where building solutions that introduce innovation and successfully bring it into practice is essential.

Watch a video of 2026 Stephen Huesing Scholarship Winner Karishini Ramamoorthi here.