Is your EMR offering certified or standard? Why is OntarioMD Certification so important to physicians?
OntarioMD certification is often misunderstood as a technical checkbox. In reality, it is a safeguard for clinics and clinicians. This session offers a practical, transparent look at what certification truly provides: vendor accountability, provincial advocacy, access to critical digital health assets and protection when systems fail. It also looks at how certification expectations are updated over time, how vendor accountability is maintained and what happens when vendors fail to meet expectations.
Co-presented with a physician, this session translates policy and process into real clinical consequences, helping clinicians make informed technology decisions before they find themselves stranded.
Presented by:
- Andrew King, Chief Technology Officer, OntarioMD
- Kevin Samson, MD, Physician Peer Leader, OntarioMD
Presenter Bios:
Andrew King
Andrew leads OntarioMD’s (OMD) development, architecture, integration and IT operations teams. He has overall responsibility for the development, maintenance and support of both internal and external products and services, including our award winning HRM® service. Andrew advances provincial EMR to EHR integration and maturity priorities through strong partnerships with digital health stakeholders and OMD’s nationally recognized OMD Certification Program. Andrew has over 30 years of IT service design and delivery experience. Over 20 years have been dedicated to provincial health care, driving EHR and EMR enabling technologies, solutions and service. Andrew is a passionate advocate for advancing clinical and practice outcomes through health care IT.
Kevin Samson, MD
Dr. Samson is a family physician. He is also an electrical engineer specializing in the development and application of digital health solutions. He is the Clinical Lead for Digital Health and Privacy and Security for the Guelph Wellington OHT, a Peer Leader with OntarioMD, and Chair of the OntarioMD TELUS PSS EMR Community of Practice. He maintains active roles with a number of provincial and national organizations, including the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario (AFHTO), Diabetes Action Canada, and Healthcare Excellence Canada. Dr. Samson is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University, a member of the University of Waterloo Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology Clinical Council, a clinical advisor for the eHealth Centre of Excellence, and works with the MACcelerate Health Innovation Accelerator. Dr. Samson received the 2019 inaugural Canada Health Informatics Clinical Innovator award, which recognizes a clinical innovator who has shown outstanding leadership in Canada in advancing the use of Digital Health in clinical practice, resulting in improved provider and patient experiences and outcomes.
Date
- Apr 24 2026
Time
- 11:05 am - 11:35 am
