Panel: From Hype to Workflow: Practical AI in Practice

Moderator

Chandi Chandrasena, MD

Dr. Chandrasena joined OntarioMD (OMD) as its Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in 2021. She is a family physician practicing in Ottawa for almost 20 years and a former OMD Physician Peer Leader who has mentored many of her colleagues to use EMRs and digital health tools effectively to enhance patient care. As CMO, she provides clinical advice at provincial and national tables and clinician advisory groups and is instrumental in forging system-level partnerships.

Panelists:

Ariane Siegel

Ariane joined OntarioMD as General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer in 2016. She has been recognized internationally for her achievements in privacy and security. She was recently awarded the 2023 Women in IT Award for Canada’s Security Leader of the Year. She has also been recognized by Who’s Who as a global leader in technology law, privacy and data protection. Ariane provides OntarioMD with strategic and legal advice. Her current focus is on technology and legal issues with respect to use of Artificial Intelligence in Primary Care. Through her leadership, OntarioMD provides health system partners with a practical perspective on privacy and security from the lens of community-based physician practices. Ariane developed OntarioMD’s Privacy & Security Training Module for the Ontario health-care sector and a second Module focused on virtual care. 

Prior to joining OntarioMD, Ariane supported global corporations with technology law advice as a Partner in Canada’s largest law firm and from her own practice. She worked as a Senior Investigator for the federal Privacy Commissioner, Law Clerk to the Chief Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice and as Constitutional Counsel to the Attorney General of Ontario. Ariane was part of the launch team for Richard Branson’s Virgin Mobile Canada. 

Usha Parthasarathi, MD

Dr. Parthasarathi is an experienced psychiatrist with an extensive educational background and a wealth of experience in the field of mental health. Graduating with an MBBS from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, India, in 2000, Dr. Parthasarathi completed her psychiatry training in Cambridge, UK, and a fellowship in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Mood Disorders at McMaster University. She has held numerous prestigious positions, including Director at Peacock Clinic, a Virtual Mental Health Multidisciplinary Clinic. Currently, she serves as a Consultant Psychiatrist at eHealth Ontario, several Family Health Teams (FHT) Clinics, and the Canadian Armed Forces. Dr. Parthasarathi has also been actively involved in administrative and academic roles, serving as a Peer Assessor for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario and a peer support person for the Ontario Medical Association (OMA). Additionally, she has held academic positions at McMaster University. With a strong commitment to the field of psychiatry, Dr. Parthasarathi continues to make significant contributions through clinical practice, education, and community involvement.

Keith Thompson, MD

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.

Barkaat Ahmad

Barkaat has more than 18 years of health care industry experience in roles as an independent health care consultant for various hospitals and clinic in different provinces of Canada. He specializes in working with family physicians to manage and optimize their practices. With a deep understanding of the healthcare industry and a passion for improving patient care, Barkaat has become a trusted resource for physicians seeking to enhance their practice operations.

Barkaat has a passion for Healthcare Technologies and has been a co-owner of two Healthcare Technology companies.  Along with managing One Health Medical Centre, Oakville, Barkaat owns and manages two other medical clinics in the Greater Toronto Area, one in Nobleton and one in Bolton. 

Barkaat also has a passion for providing services for children with special needs and owns a Therapy Centre called Room To Bloom Therapy Centre in Bolton.  Barkaat also serves on the Board of Directors of Ontario Autism Coalition and has previously served on chapter leadership committee of Autism Ontario, York Chapter. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Barkaat worked with Hills of Headwaters Collaborative Ontario Health Team (OHT) to host the first COVID-19 Astra Zeneca Primary Care pilot site for the Bolton area.  With his efforts, Bolton Medical Practice delivered more than 10,000 COVID-19 Vaccines for residents living in Peel Region. This evolved into the first integrated Covid Response Site in Caledon, built in collaboration with the Hills of Headwaters OHT.  Barkaat led this clinic till March 31st, 2022, which provided COVID-19 Vaccination and Assessments for all ages. 

Prior to his career in health care, Barkaat worked as an Embedded Software Engineer at Motorola Canada Hardware Diagnostics Engineer at Integral Access, Boston, Senior Software Engineer and Project Manager at Motorola Canada. Barkaat obtained an Electrical Engineering degree from Toronto Metropolitan University.