Medical School Faculty and Students Recognized for Commitment to Improving Clinical Practice Through Digital Health Solutions

(Ottawa) – The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) and Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) are pleased to announce the results of two competitions aimed at improving clinical practice and patient care by supporting medical school faculty, students and residents in their learning and clinical use of digital tools.

From left to right: Dr. Geneviève Moineau, Dr. Hélène Boisjoly, Dr. David Topps, Dr. Rachel Ellaway, and Dr. Rashaad Bhyat at the award ceremony.

This is the third year of the e-Health Faculty Award and Canadian Healthcare Education Commons - La Collaboration pour l'éducation en santé au Canada (CHEC-CESC) Virtual Patient Challenge. The competition is part of the AFMC-Infoway Physicians in Training e-Health Curriculum and e-Learning initiative.

"Our collaboration with Canada Health Infoway exemplifies our commitment to digital health," stated Dr Geneviève Moineau, President and CEO, AFMC. "Our faculties of medicine need ongoing support to prepare graduating physicians to be truly adept at functioning optimally in an electronic environment."

From left to right: Lynel Jackson, Andrew Dhawan, Rebecca Wang and Dr. Rashaad Bhyat at the award ceremony.

Professors Dr. David Topps from the University of Calgary and Dr. Rachel Ellaway from the Northern Ontario School of Medicine are the co-recipients of the AFMC-Infoway e-Health Faculty Award, which recognizes exceptional leadership and commitment to digital health and informatics in medical education in Canada.

First prize in the Canadian Healthcare Education Commons CHEC-CESC Virtual Patient Challenge is awarded to medical students Rebecca Wang and Andrew Dhawan from Queen's University. Abdul Naeem from Western University received second place honours and Alicia Li Hsia Cheong from McGill University is the third place winner. The focus of the challenge was on virtual patient learning tools that incorporate the use of electronic health records (EHRs) and other aspects of digital health to improve patient care.

"Innovative leadership among medical school faculty and students ensures the physicians of tomorrow are prepared for technology-enabled practice," said Maureen Charlebois, Group Director, Clinical Adoption, Canada Health Infoway. "I congratulate this year's award recipients and thank them for helping to improve health and health care in Canada for generations to come."

About Canada Health Infoway

Funded by the federal government, Infoway helps to improve the health of Canadians by working with partners to accelerate the development, adoption and effective use of digital health across Canada. Through our investments, we help deliver better quality and access to care and more efficient delivery of health services for patients and clinicians.

About AFMC

The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) represents the country’s 17 faculties of medicine and is the national voice for academic medicine. Our organization was founded in 1943 and functions to support individually and collectively Canada’s medical schools through promotion of medical education, research, and clinical care.

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For more information:

Kate Monfette
Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC)
Tel: 613-608-0227