TORONTO, Sept. 9, 2011 /CNW/ - Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) announced today the formation of a new Clinical Council to provide advice on the organization's clinical engagement strategy and investments. The Council will be chaired by Dr. Michael Golbey, who is a practicing family physician from Kelowna, British Columbia and Chair of the Canadian Medical Association Board of Directors. It also includes physician, nurse, pharmacist and patient representatives.
"As clinicians, we see every day that good care depends on accurate and timely information, and it is time for us to embrace information technology solutions that add value for our patients and to our practices," said Dr. Golbey. "The new Clinical Council puts the voices of patients, nurses, pharmacists, doctors, and other health professionals at the heart of Infoway's work."
The Clinical Council will provide strategic advice on Infoway's overall clinical engagement strategy, reach out to clinical leaders across the country, and suggest suitable candidates to participate in the organization's discipline- and project/program-specific clinical and consumer reference groups. This interdisciplinary group is intended to complement Infoway's current reference groups for physicians, nurses, and pharmacists; provincial/territorial clinical peer support networks funded by Infoway; investments in supporting the needs of clinicians-in-training; and, project-specific clinical advisory mechanisms.
"We need and value the advice of patient associations and clinicians to steer Infoway's work and ensure the best value for individual Canadians and their health care providers from our investments," said Dr. Jennifer Zelmer, Senior Vice-President, Clinical Adoption and Innovation, Canada Health Infoway. "Achieving clinical value requires a team, which is why the Clinical Council brings together people with different backgrounds from different parts of the country."
Inaugural members of the Clinical Council include:
Dr. Michael Golbey (Chair), Dr. Sholom Glouberman, Ms. Iris Krawchenko, Ms. Mary O'Keefe-Robak, Dr. Jean-François Rancourt, Ms. Heather Sherrard, Dr. Bryce Taylor, Dr. Jennifer Zelmer (ex-officio)
The work of the Clinical Council and the implementation of Infoway's clinical and patient engagement strategies more generally are supported by the $500 million in funding provided by the Government of Canada in its 2010 Budget.
Click here for the inaugural members' bios or to view the original release.