Clinicians from across Ontario have been recognized with an OMD Luminary Award for their outstanding contributions to advance digital health. Read their stories and get inspired!
Dr. Payal Agarwal, Family Physician, Grand River Hospital and St. Mary's General Hospital
Winner - Woman Leader in Health Technology
As a family physician and Integrated Chief Medical Informatics and Innovation Officer for Kitchener-Waterloo's Grand River and St. Mary's Hospitals, Dr. Agarwal is passionate about using digital health solutions to engage physicians and patients. A longtime supporter of women taking a larger role in health technology, she is committed to building bridges between groups (leveraging her engineering degree at the same time!) and reciprocating the mentorship she received from other women in medicine. She led the strategy to optimize digital health tools at Grand River and St. Mary's Hospitals and has played a crucial role in developing and implementing
Evidence2Practice Ontario to facilitate digitally enabled health care. She has also incorporated secure messaging and other integrated programs into her own practice for a more collaborative, human-centred approach to patient care and believes the "EMR is a great place to collaborate, especially for patients with complex medical histories, so that everyone involved in their care can work together continuously and seamlessly." Dr. Agarwal was named by Digital Health Canada as one of the
2023 Women Leaders in Digital Health attesting to her outstanding leadership.
Dr. Jocelyn Charles, Family Physician, Private Practice
Winner - Advocacy
In her role as a family physician at the Sunnybrook Academic Family Health Team, Dr. Charles ensures she provides patients with the same quality of care that inspired her to pursue a medical career. She also provides home-based primary care to vulnerable seniors and housebound patients. A fierce advocate for equal access to health services and improved EMR integration, she is passionate about implementing digital health innovations – including existing tools such as e-Consult and e-Referral as well as new options – to streamline care. She is a strong proponent for improving report delivery from hospitals to EMRs and was a member of the Health Report Manager (HRM®) Task Force that developed recommendations for hospitals and EMRs to improve report formatting and reduce duplicate reports and more. Dr. Charles' commitment to continuous improvement in health care is further reflected in her mentorship for women in health-care leadership roles and the next generation of physicians.
Dr. Xin Chong, Family Physician, Private Practice
Winner - Woman Leader in Health Technology
Dr. Xin Chong is the embodiment of a digitally engaged mature doctor. Since adopting EMR 20 years ago, she has been a driving force for health technology with colleagues and within her own practice. Her passion for digital innovation also led her to implement online booking, e-Consult and e-Referral long before they became commonplace tools for clinicians. Dr. Chong serves as the unofficial digital health advisor for everyone around her, freely sharing her EMR expertise, troubleshooting issues that arise and encouraging those with less technological knowledge to stay the course. She shares this advice for technologically challenged colleagues, "Digital health is inevitable. Whether you think we're enslaved by technology or not, this is where we're headed. It's better to face it head-on."
Dr. John Crosby, Family Physician, Crosby Medicine Professional Corporation
Winner - Patient Engagement
A lifelong people's advocate and longtime OMD Peer Leader, Dr. Crosby recently retired from family medicine after nearly 50 years of service. Despite turning in his stethoscope, he continues to serve as a digital health subject matter expert, provide mentorship to colleagues in and outside of Ontario, champion patient engagement and share insightful contributions through the Medical Post, peer reviews for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario and blogs and podcasts. He understands the connection between better patient experiences and improved health outcomes, having worked tirelessly to encourage colleagues and the broader health-care industry to embrace patient engagement toward a more effective and patient-centred health-care system.
Dr. Lee Donohue, Family Physician, Private Practice
Winner - Woman Leader in Health Technology
As a family physician of over 30 years, Dr. Donohue relishes the use of digital health tools in caring for generations of patients in her Ottawa group practice. She embraces the use of "new things that make parts of life easier" but also cautions that "patient care is sometimes done off the desk, and not necessarily in the EMR." A self-improvement enthusiast, she believes EMR innovation is best served by greater physician input. Dr. Donohue has long implemented tools such as online booking, two-way secure messaging and virtual care visits but has not lost sight of the importance of the patient experience, specifically regarding their literacy and appreciation for these tools. She enjoys mentoring the next generation of female physicians through her work as a Peer Leader, leadership roles with the Ontario Medical Association in representing physicians in her district, and collaborating with like-minded individuals on pragmatic solutions.
Dr. Keith Thompson, Family Physician, Private Practice
Winner - Technology & Compassion
Dr. Thompson is a family physician with his own practice in London, Ontario. A self-proclaimed late bloomer to technology, he uses digital health tools to enhance, not replace, delivery of care. He has leveraged his EMR data to go beyond diagnoses and deliver more compassionate care for his 1,900 patients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Thompson rediscovered the importance of his relationship with his patients, citing it as his fuel to get through the day. He says, "When I'm feeling burnt out or frustrated, I think of my patients and the gratitude they show. My relationship with my patients means everything. "It fuels me to do more." Dr. Thompson does more by sharing his newsletter, Compassion in Digital Health, with his colleagues and others. When notified of his Luminary Award win, he mused, "I cannot say how much I appreciate it. At times, my bucket has felt empty…with long hours away from home and then the COVID years…this feels like a warm hug of thanks."
Dr. Brendan Trickey, Family Physician, Central Ottawa Family Medicine Associates
Winner - Mentorship
Dr. Trickey is a family physician at Central Ottawa Family Medicine Associates (COFMA). As COFMA's unofficial IT manager, he has long advocated for digital health technology to facilitate care for his 1,000 patients. He helped to shepherd COFMA's EMR implementation, training colleagues on its usage and even resolving the odd glitch. When asked about his favourite aspect of EMRs, he replied, ""What I like most about EMRs is the ability to not only view all of someone's medical records at a glance but customize how I view it. It helps me to provide better care at a quicker rate than any other method." Dr. Trickey also led the integration of online booking, secure messaging and the Ontario Laboratories Information System (OLIS) – with Health Report Manager (HRM) and e-Referral next in line! – to improve the coordination of health care and communication with patients. His dedication to digital health innovations, mentorship for colleagues, and communication savvy have optimized primary care for COFMA patients.
Previous Winners
Check out our
news release for more information on the 2023 Luminary Award Winners and look out for their stories on our social media and in our Digital Health etips newsletter.