Keynote Panel: The Art of Practicing Medicine

Dr. Chandi Chandrasena

Dr. Chandi Chandrasena is OntarioMD’s Chief Medical Officer, providing the clinical perspective and advice to inform current and future digital health products and services for physicians to add increasing value to patient care.

Before joining OntarioMD, Dr. Chandrasena was an OntarioMD physician peer leader for six years mentoring physicians and practice staff to incorporate technology effectively into their workflows. She has been a regular speaker at many national and provincial conferences providing practical tips and best practices on certified electronic medical records systems and integrated digital health tools, as well as medical mobile apps that clinician practices have found valuable for patient care. Dr. Chandrasena also works closely with the Continuing Medical Education Department at the University of Ottawa.

Dr. Chandrasena has advised the Champlain Local Health Integration Network on local issues and providing clinician-facing solutions, and has had roles on several boards and executive committees and co-chaired committees on virtual care and digital technology. Dr. Chandrasena has held many leadership roles at the OMA, including the elected chair (2018-2020) for District 8.

Dr. Keith Thompson

Dr. Thompson is a London-based Family Physician, a graduate of UWO Schulich School of Medicine in 1987, completing his CCFP in 1989 and awarded Fellowship Canadian College Family Practice in 2005.

He is Adjunct Community Based Faculty Research Eligible Clinical Professor with the Dept. Family Medicine. He is active in his solo practice serving ~ 2800 patients. He recently became interested in the innovation technologies relevant to Primary Care. Dr. Thompson would describe his encounters with Innovations as an “experience that has rekindled his passion for Family Medicine and Patient-Centered Care.”

He was one of the initial Canadian Physicians hired to consult with the Teladoc/BestDoctors Canada start-up team in February of 2018. He is CMO for iTelemed, a nonprofit company innovating in virtual care programs within the public-funded Health systems in Ontario.

He maintains an active networking relationship with numerous Health technology startups but also with numerous Industry leaders in Virtual care.

He is currently involved in 2 research surveys on Virtual care in Primary care settings with UWO Dept. Family Medicine.

He is a current member of the Primary Care Digital Health working group for the Western Ontario OHT.

He is Member C.D.Howe Institute external reviews for Virtual care and member Dig Health Canada.

He is a recent member of the Association for Corporate Growth Toronto Chapter and Digital Health Canada.

Dr. Thomas Freeman

Dr. Tom Freeman is a Professor Emeritus (Active) and an Adjunct Research Professor in the Centre for Studies in Family Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University. He practiced comprehensive family medicine for 40 years, engaging in research, the education of students, residents and graduate students.

He is past Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry and past Chief of Family Practice at London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s Healthcare, London.

He has been a Visiting Scholar at the Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care in Washington D.C. and given invited lectures in New Zealand, Japan and Turkey. He is a co-author of McWhinney’s Textbook of Family Medicine and Patient-Centered Medicine: Transforming the Clinical Method.

His research interests focus on the natural history of common symptoms; vaccine surveillance; access to primary care. He offers seminar teaching in the Foundations of Family Medicine course in the Graduate program of the Department of Family Medicine.

Sydney Graham

Sydney is a Patient and Caregiver Engagement Specialist and Educator. She has been involved in healthcare, both personally and professionally, for over 20 years. Sydney’s first-hand experience as a patient and family caregiver complements her extensive Patient and Family Centred Care training.

Sydney advises healthcare providers and organizations, academic institutions, government organizations, governance bodies, patients and family caregivers, including: University of Toronto, Health Quality Ontario, Toronto International Summit on Leadership Education for Physicians, The Change Foundation, Canadian Critical Care Trials Group, VON, Patients Canada and various hospitals. Sydney also works with (FAR) Families for Addition Recovery and delivers Caregiver Training Seminars.