Computers might never replace doctors, but
Dr. Alex Jadad is determined to make them an intimate partner in medicine.
JIM WILKES/TORONTO STAR
INNOVATOR: Dr. Alex Jadad,
director of the University Health Network's Centre for eHealth
Innovation, is leading the charge to integrate Internet technology
with health care.
The Colombian-born director of the Centre
for eHealth Innovation of Toronto's University Health Network is taking
technology to new levels that he hopes will be a model for future health care
around the world.
"Our hope is to help the health system move from an industrial age model of
care — big hospitals where you come when they call you for short episodes of
care with physicians and then leave to deal with most of your issues at home
on your own — to a system that is more consistent with the information age,"
he said.
"Imagine the health system being your good travel companion. If you need the
health system, a computer helps you when you need it, how you need it, where
you need it, wherever you are, tailoring the information and services to your
needs — not the other way around."
The eHealth centre at Toronto General Hospital is mostly empty space, as the
first of millions of dollars in grants begin to pour in. Next will come rooms
of equipment and the people who will make it the focus of world attention.
It's a welcome spotlight for Jadad, 38, who considered abandoning Canada when
medical authorities here refused to accept his qualifications when he first
arrived in 1995.
Like many foreign-trained doctors, Jadad learned his proven skills and
education alone weren't enough to convince officials to certify him as a
doctor. He studied at England's Oxford University where he received a Ph.D. in
knowledge synthesis — evidence-based medicine.
"I'm a physician and I'm also a researcher, an innovator," Jadad explained.
"The innovator side of me felt like I was in a big candy store because Canada
offered many more opportunities for discovery, funding and for personal
development as an academic.
"But the clinical side of me felt very frustrated here because, despite the
fact I was allowed to work in the UK, I couldn't work in Canada as a
physician, even though I had skills that are in short supply in this country."
It was a confusing time.
The Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons, which took four years to
certify him to be a doctor here, invited him in the interim to be a member of
its task force on the management of chronic pain.
"They recognized my knowledge — the same body that was creating barriers to
giving me my licence," he said incredulously.
"I understand that the licensing bodies want to protect the public. But there
is a need to facilitate entry to people in a systematic way, in a way that
would really be in the best interest of Canadians.
"Sometimes this process takes too long."
But Jadad didn't waste time in despair. "I am like two people in one," he
said. "My academic side grew incredibly in those four years.
"It was my clinical side that was very frustrated. It is a frustration I share
with many of my colleagues who have great qualifications, but who find it very
difficult to get into the system.
"But I'm detecting signs of change" he said. "They must change, because these
barriers are starting to harm people."
Jadad has been hailed for his expertise from within Canada and around the
world. Last year, Time magazine named him one of seven new Canadians who will
shape the next century.
And he admits he's been tempted by lucrative offers to move to Europe or the
United States.
"But it's my conviction that we have the best environment in the world right
here in Canada in which to pursue the transformation of the health system in
the information age," he said.
Jadad, who holds the prestigious Canada Research Chair in eHealth Innovation
and the Rose Family Chair in Supportive Care, is also a professor at the
University of Toronto.
In coming months, Jadad said he'll be exploring new projects, including the
creation of patient communication centres on the Internet, where people will
be able to book their own appointments and talk with patients facing similar
problems.
The eHealth centre is already connected to 50 communities in Northern Ontario
to provide services to people who don't have access to specialists.
"We hope to use computers to enhance our ability as humans to connect with
each other, develop strong relationships and be there when we need each other,
regardless of where or who we are."
Jadad said the New Pioneers award acknowledges that Canada can benefit from
talent outside our borders.
"We need to preserve our diversity at all costs," he said. "That's what makes
this country special.
"In my case, it represents an opportunity to show how, as new Canadians, we
can make a difference. But what has happened up to now has been just a warm-up
period.
