Keynote Address: Predictions for Canadian Healthcare IT - Seeking Value

Dr. Chris Hobson 

Chief Medical Officer, Orion Health

Dr. Hobson has 16 years’ experience as a physician working in primary and secondary care including 10 years’ experience  in Family Medicine. While working as a primary care practitioner he was instrumental in establishing the largest primary care network in New Zealand, Procare, which pioneered value based contracting with the New Zealand Ministry of Health.  During this time he helped develop and use an EMR with full functionality including integration of electronic lab results, radiology, CPOE and e-prescribing  in day-to-day practice. Subsequently Dr. Hobson worked in senior management at South Auckland Health where he oversaw the development of several integrated care and Information Technology projects such as electronic discharge letters, chronic disease management and the national immunization register for New Zealand. He worked closely with technology vendor Orion Health during that time and decided to join the company because of the important role he saw technology play in driving health system change.  Since joining Orion Health,  Dr. Hobson has worked globally as Chief Medical Officer in most areas of Healthcare IT, from population level health strategy through product design and development; sales marketing and implementation. 

Area Director Health Industries International Trade Branch Ontario Government 

Patricia Cosgrove, Area Director, Life Sciences, USA, Export Business Services Branch, Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, joined the Ontario Government in 1998; she has 20 years in the field of international trade.  Patricia focuses on assisting Ontario-based life sciences companies do business in the United States.  By way of background, Patricia holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science from Carleton University in Ottawa.

Patricia will discuss some of the aspects that companies must be aware of before entering the US market: the need for a solid marketing strategy, changes to reimbursement, and the difficulties involved in going through FDA.

President McCarthy Consultant Services (Regulatory Expert) 

Steve McCarthy assumed the role of President with McCarthy Consultant Services, Inc. (MCSI) in 2015. MCSI was founded in 1981 with the belief that sound regulatory affairs and quality assurance management is the key to business success and has since grown to an internationally recognized and highly regarded provider of these services.  Prior to his position as President of MCSI Steve worked for 15 years in the health care and therapeutics industry, providing front-line patient services, in sales and marketing roles for medical devices and drug products, and managing people.

Steve's roundtable will provide excellent insights for medical device companies that will benefit from ensuring they have a sound quality assurance and regulatory plan in place no matter the stage of the development the company is at.

Senior Business Development Manager - Ontario Centres of Excellence

Balinder Rai is Business Development and Commercialization Senior Manager at the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE), facilitating connections between Ontario industry and academia to develop and commercialize innovative technologies. Balinder has more than 15 years public and private sector experience and has held positions in corporate services and business development. At OCE, Balinder works with innovative start-ups, as well as established firms in many sectors including health technologies, ICT, advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity and fintech.

Balinder will discuss how OCE supports projects that help Ontario companies create jobs and exports, attract local and international co-investment and become more globally competitive. 

Head Life Science, Royal Bank

Dan Juskovic has 25 of experience in financial services sector in the areas of Personal and Commercial Banking, Wealth Management, Product and Strategy Development. In his current role, Dan works with senior clients in the Life Sciences industry and has a market leadership responsibility for the Greater Toronto Region. Dan holds an MBA in Financial Services from Dalhousie University. Dan’s professional designations include a Fellow of Institute of Canadian Bankers. Dan volunteers on a number of industry advisory boards including BIOTEC Canada and Life Sciences Ontario. Junior Achievement of Central Ontario, Financial Literacy and Youth Employment are some of the organizations and missions Dan actively takes part in.

Dan’s roundtable will provide key information on working capital and growth financing, to help propel your business forward. 

Ironstone Product Development 

Joel Ironstone is a medical technology development expert with over 18 years of experience developing novel medical technologies. His experience includes technical development, regulatory approvals and the design and execution of first-in-man and pivotal clinical trials. He has brought more than a dozen innovative healthcare products from concept through to commercialization, and has held executive positions as CEO, COO, VP Product Development, and VP Clinical and Regulatory Affairs at several medical technology companies. He is currently the President and Principal Consultant at IPD, Canada's only full service medical device consultancy providing full clinical, regulatory, and product development support to innovative health-care companies. 

Joel's roundtable will be discussing, "First, does it really work? Techniques for getting the early data necessary to convince yourself, KOLs and investors that your innovation can deliver on its promise." 

President Friesen Concepts Inc. and founding member of the Healthcare Supply Chain Network 

Sarah Friesen leads Friesen Concepts Inc., an independent practice specializing in healthcare procurement solutions. Areas of focus include strategic sourcing transformation, innovation procurement and professional development. Sarah has 20 years of experience in the healthcare sector, and she brings 17 years of strategic sourcing and supply chain experience from the private sector. Sarah supports healthcare organizations as they navigate the complexities of innovation procurement initiatives. She also develops and delivers professional development programs through various educational institutions and the Healthcare Supply Chain Network (HSCN). Sarah is a founding member of HSCN and a member of the Board of Directors. Most recently she was the Project Manager for the HSCN Innovation Procurement Toolkit project. Sarah participates in various innovation initiatives and served as a member of the Ontario Health Innovation Council.

Innovation procurement methods are increasingly being applied in the healthcare sector, and they promise to be more accessible for small to medium sized enterprises. Sarah's roundtable will discuss the theory and then the practice: how are you as innovators being engaged in these procurement opportunities? Are the processes leading to more post POC procurements?

Industrial Technology Advisor, IRAP

Ian McGill assists clients through every aspect of the innovation process, from concept to commercialization, providing technical and business advice, referrals and other innovation services as needed. As clients focus on developing their innovative ideas, Ian works to assemble the unique mix of expertise, information and resources needed. 

Ian McGill and Rami Posner will discuss how IRAP can help your business grow through programs such as Research and Development funding support and International Research and Development collaboration.

Innovator Advisor, National Research Council of Canada

Rami is a Senior Advisor with Innovation Canada’s Innovation Advisory Service (IAS) serving the Greater Toronto Area.  IAS is a service delivered by the Government of Canada’s Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development in collaboration with federal and provincial partners that aims to help small and medium-sized enterprises navigate the many innovation resources and support programs offered by the government and partner organizations. Rami is a senior business and technology leader with over 15 years’ of hands-on experience in strategy (product, marketing, new ventures, partnerships) and operational (new product development, product management, business operations) roles across a broad range of sectors in both startup and complex corporate environments.  He has a strong background in emerging technologies, business incubation and passion for helping small and medium-sized companies think big. Ian McGill and Rami Posner will discuss how IRAP can help your business grow through programs such as Research and Development funding support and International Research and Development collaboration.  

Trade Commissioner, Life Sciences, Global Affairs Canada

As Trade Commissioner with Global Affairs Canada, Eleo Rupprecht is responsible for the global life sciences market serving companies based in the Ontario Region. In this capacity, Eleo facilitates company international growth strategies by leveraging the Department’s Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) represented in over 600 offices around the world, funding and market access programs and B2B initiatives throughout the year. Prior to her life sciences mandate, Eleo was responsible for promoting Canadian tech globally landing a number of trade and investment wins for Canada. Eleo works with a broad range of organizations from research based pre-revenue to Canadian based multinational enterprises.

Eleo will discuss the myriad of services and programs offered through the TCS in support of Canadian companies doing business seeking to expand globally and will provide insight on the best means of engaging with Trade Commissioners.