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Keynote Panel

Keynote Panel: Electronic Medical Records: An Opportunity for Engagement and Partnership

Julie Drury

Julie Drury is the inaugural Chair of the Minister's Patient and Family Advisory Council for the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. Julie is passionate about the patient / family / professional partnership and experience in health. In her role, she facilitates and provides the patient and family perspective in health care policy and decision making. As the mother of a child who was diagnosed with SIFD, a rare form of mitochondrial disease, Julie has particular experience in system navigation, complex care, care coordination, palliative care and patient safety. 

Julie is an experienced senior federal health policy advisor and is respected for her highly collaborative work style, stakeholder engagement, and leadership skills. Julie's personal and professional experience are focussed on advising government on key health priorities that have a real impact on patient care and experience in Ontario. 

Julie is a patient advisor, chair, board member with several organizations including; MitoCanada Foundation, MitoNet Patient Partnership Council, Digital Health Ontario, Rare Disease Foundation, Family Advisory Council for the Ontario Provincial Pediatric Palliative Care Steering Committee, Bridge to Home Quality Improvement Initiative with CFHI, Health Quality Ontario, and the Ontario Provincial PFAC Leadership Table. She is previously the chair of the Patient and Family Advisory Council for CHEO, and a parent advisor for Complex Care Kids Ontario. 

Julie's educational background is in the field of health sciences. As a patient and family advisor she consults and speaks to organizations, government and not for profits regularly on patient engagement, patient partnership, and patient leadership.
Julie lives in Ottawa with her husband and son.


Selina Brudnicki, MBA, PMP

Selina Brudnicki is the Program Lead of Digital Patient Experience at University Health Network, and recipient of numerous innovation, transformation and leading practice awards. Her healthcare and digital innovation experience position her as one of Canada's leading authorities on patient real-time access to their health information and data, and co-design/collaboration with patients. Committed to activating patients to take control of their own health, have safer outcomes and be valued partners in their care, she has been sharing her experience and expertise in local, national and international forums. 

Selina has also provided leadership to project teams to deliver initiatives that give healthcare providers from across the continuum of care more complete access to their patients’ health records, breaking down silos of information and delivering more coordinated care.



Claire Dawe-McCord

Claire Dawe-McCord is a member of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s Patient and Family Advisory Council and has worked as a patient advisor for six years. Claire is passionate about patient engagement, transitions of care, rare disease, and healthcare policy. 

Starting at the age of nine, Claire began experiencing what seemed like unrelated symptoms - it wasn’t until 16 that everything came to a critical point and she was admitted to the hospital with multi-organ failure of unknown etiology. During her many months of recovery, she was diagnosed with an extremely rare genetic neuromuscular disorder and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder. Through her lived experience as a young patient with a number of complex medical conditions, Claire brings a unique perspective to the world of patient advocacy.   

Her experience in health care and love of science has led Claire to pursue a Bachelor of Health Sciences degree at McMaster University. It is her wish to one day to become a physician.   

Claire has worked as an advisor for the CHEO youth forum, CHEO Research Institute PFAC, Ontario Structured Psychotherapy Program, the Champlain LHIN’s Pediatric Planning Project, and as a guest lecturer about best practices for adolescent health care at the University of Ottawa.
When not studying or working in health policy Claire also works as an international model whose work has been featured in Elle, Flare, Mariage Quebec and Wedding Bells.


Dr. Daniel Pepe

Dr. Daniel Pepe is a family physician and member of the London Lambeth Family Medicine Clinic. He is currently one year into clinic practice which he shares with his wife Dr. Lin-Pepe. Dr. Pepe is involved in providing comprehensive family medicine to his patients including surgical assisting in orthopedics, inpatient, and palliative care. His passions include patient education and more recently patient co-design. 

He is currently the editor of Teach & Learn Family Medicine which is funded through a patient education grant provided by the College of Family Physicians of Canada. He is also an adjunct research professor in the Department of Family Medicine and provides clinical teaching in both the undergraduate and post-graduate departments at Western University.