SAS® Canada establishes Healthcare Advisory Council

– New council seeks to improve delivery of healthcare services throughout Ontario –

TORONTO,ON. (December 7, 2005) – Furthering its commitment to the healthcare industry, SAS®, the leader in business intelligence, today announced the formation of the SAS Canada Healthcare Advisory Council. The new Council includes prominent industry experts and innovators who are all focused and dedicated to improving the delivery of healthcare services throughout Ontario.

The Council was announced at a SAS hosted conference on Best Practices for Ontario’s Evolving Healthcare System where thought leaders and industry executives shared ideas on the ways in which healthcare providers can improve patient care, operate more efficiently and look at broader issues such as healthcare reform, technology enablement and emerging trends such as performance management and accountability.

“Healthcare services in Ontario are undergoing massive change right now and we are pleased to be at the forefront of some key initiatives which will lead to more collaboration and dialogue on how best to improve the overall quality of patient care in this province,” said Michael Turney, Manager, Strategy and Market Development at SAS Canada. “The issues we are tackling with this council encompass not only using best of breed technology practices, but take into account the whole healthcare process from handling and analyzing patient records to disease prevention and management.”

At the Council’s inaugural meeting last week, Dr. Adalsteinn Brown, assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation at the University of Toronto, and Information Management Lead for the Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care’s Health Results Team, was nominated and elected as the Council Chair for 2006.  Dr. Brown highlighted potential areas of focus for the group including such issues as sourcing, securing and managing data for primary care systems, and closing-the-loop with diagnostic outcomes, as well as the relevance of a Balanced Scorecard approach to performance management for Canadian Hospitals and the recently created Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs).

Council members include:

Health Results Team - Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care
Dr. Adalsteinn Brown, Information Management Lead

Acute Services Division - Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care
Mary Kardosburton, Assistant Deputy Minister
 
Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES)
Paula McColgan, VP, Policy & External Relations

Smart Systems for Health Agency
Roman Olarnyk, CIO

Local Health Integration Network, South West
Tony Woolgar, CEO

Local Health Integration Network, Central West
Mimi Lowi-Young, CEO
 
GE Healthcare Canada
Murray Wigmore, General Manager, Clinical Systems

University Health Network
Cara Flemming, Director Risk Management & Management Decision Support

Ontario Air Ambulance
Merideth Morrison, Director Quality Management

Scarborough and Durham Hospitals & CCACs
Lewis Hooper, Regional CIO

Trillium Health Centre
Brian Edmonds, Vice President Finance

St. Michael’s Hospital
Jane Merkley, Director, Nursing Practice & Education

IDC Canada Limited
Jamie Sharp, VP Research

Canadian Institute for Health Information
Scott Murray, CTO