Innovation in Healthcare

A Letter to the Community:

Hello Physiotherapists, Healthcare Professionals, Clinic Owners, Innovators, and Leaders!

As we contemplate the dumpster fire that 2020 has been so far, let's turn our eyes to the horizon and focus on building a future where healthcare is accessible, affordable, convenient, empathetic, and above all else, human-centered. 

Until there is a vaccine or treatment, we are likely going to 'accordion' our way through a restart of the global economy.

I doubt that you or anyone reading this could have predicted the wild twists and turns that 2020 has taken us on.

The world is going to be different, and this demands that we are different too - not only to survive but to thrive in this new normal.

My name is Maggie Bergeron and I am a physiotherapist in Toronto and the co-founder of Embodia. I am also the community director of a group called TechTO Health which is a community of thousands of tech entrepreneurs, investors, stakeholders, and healthcare practitioners.

This, therefore, means that I have one eye on the physiotherapy/healthcare industry and one eye on the startup industry. I'd like to share some of my observations with you. If this resonates with you, I invite you to join myself along with an esteemed panel on Thursday, August 27 at 12 pm EST where we will be discussing the major challenges in the healthcare system, what innovation in healthcare means for you and your patients, and how healthcare systems decide what changes to make and with whom.

The world is listening. The healthcare system is primed for new solutions, ideas, and models of care. 

I believe that technology is a crucial piece to moving physiotherapy and healthcare forward but I also recognize that there are many other equally important pieces. 

I frequently get asked if machines are going to take over our jobs as healthcare practitioners. This is where we are today:

Patients exist in a world of insufficient data, insufficient time, insufficient context, and insufficient presence.

Combining the power of humans and machines - intelligence both human and artificial - would take healthcare to an unprecedented level. The increased efficiency and workflow could either be used to squeeze clinicians more, or the gift of time could be turned back to patients.

I believe in a future where we, as clinicians, will have heightened humanness - to give more time and compassion to those who seek our expertise so that we can put the 'care' back into healthcare.

This one-time-only event with leaders in the Canadian healthcare system will not be recorded. Do not register if you cannot attend. Space is limited to the first 200 registrants only. 

All are invited to join this conversation - healthcare practitioners, innovators, clinic owners, administrators, and leaders.

This live, online event will be of particular value if you are interested in:

• The acceleration of digital healthcare as a result of COVID-19;
• The top drivers that are creating ripples (and soon waves) of change in the healthcare system (beyond COVID-19);
• The top trends in health technology; and
• Perhaps most importantly, understanding what people really want and how can we best serve them in this age of digital transformation, artificial intelligence, machine intelligence, and consumer health.

The adoption process of digital healthcare, remote workers, distributed workforces, and technology has been accelerated by 50 years. Join us to take a birds-eye view of our profession and the healthcare industry, and predictions for the future.

Space is limited. Register below (you must be signed in to register).

Your Panelists

Hadi Salah

Director, New Ventures
SE Health/SE Futures/Elizz

Hadi is Director of New Ventures at SE futures, the innovation team of SE Health. Hadi leads the affordable senior housing strategy at SE Health, with an aim to develop an innovative an aging-in-place campus that is multi-generational, adaptable, accessible and at an attainable price point. Hadi also leads strategy for launching and growing new ventures aligned with SE Health’s social enterprise roots and existing priorities. Hadi comes from a diverse background. A biochemist by training, he most recently led strategy, investments, and partnerships at RBC Ventures (Health & Wellness team), and the Ministry of Health’s Office of the Chief Health Innovation Strategist, as their industry lead. Hadi is a co-founder of the Hacking Health Foundation, currently scaling communities of health innovation across the globe in 15 countries and over 45 regions.

Ran Manor

Director
Baycrest Innovation Office

Sarah Friesen

Specialist in healthcare procurement solutions
Friesen Concepts Inc.

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. She is a member of Supply Chain Canada.

Maggie Bergeron

PT, Co-Founder, CEO of Embodia
Community Director at TechTO Health

Maggie Bergeron is a registered physiotherapist who received her Master of Science in Physical Therapy from McMaster University in 2009 after completing her undergraduate studies at the University of Ottawa. Maggie co-founded Embodia in 2014 to modernize the patient experience and to provide a simple, easy way to take continuing education courses to all physiotherapists and rehabilitation practitioners, regardless of their location, budget or area of practice. She is also the host of HealthTO - a health technology event that brings together 200 health tech enthusiasts bi-monthly to network, learn, and collaborate.

Maggie has been an invited speaker at Universities, technology symposiums and healthcare conferences across Canada. Maggie currently serves as a mentor, placement host and holds a Status-Only Appointment (lecturer ranking) with the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto.