The
infraNET Project and
Waterloo Institute for Health Informatics Research
at the University of Waterloo
present ...
Wellness and Health in the
Internet Age:
We must meet our children's expectations
by
Dr. Alex Jadad, MD,
DPhil, FRCPC
Director, Centre
for Global eHealth Innovation
Canada Research Chair in eHealth Innovation
University Health Network & University of Toronto
Wednesday,
September 24, 2003
3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Davis Centre, Room 1302
University of Waterloo
This
Seminar is Sponsored By
Agfa Healthcare Informatics
This seminar is of interest to
Health and IT Executives, IS/IT Staff, Faculty and Students.
There is no charge for this event, however, we ask that you
register to attend.
Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Abstract
Our children, as the first generation growing up with the Internet,
have come to expect a health system that is very different from the
inefficient franchise of repair shops we have now. They expect a system that
they can understand and trust, that is transparent and accountable, that encourages
partnerships, and that promotes health, not only the management of disease.
They want a system that acts as a good companion for them, through life,
regardless of who or where they are.
If we are to satisfy these expectations, we will need to take far
greater advantage of information and communication technologies for
health management and care than we have so far, using these
technologies in new ways, doing new things, and achieving higher levels
of quality than the usual today. This means that we must deal with the
issues of health information quality and usability, addressing the
completeness, validity, reliability, and timeliness of information, its
familiarity to different cultures and ages, its readability relative to
a spectrum of literacy, and the effects it has on the consumer. Our
research in this area has the objective of more closely coupling information
technologies with users. I will give an overview of our research and the
future of a health system that will not disappoint our children.
Dr. Alex Jadad was born and
educated in Colombia, where he obtained his medical degree in 1986, specializing
in anaesthesiology. By the time he was 20 years of age and still a medical
student, he became a leading medical expert on cocaine in Colombia and an
internationally sought after speaker; by the time he was 25 he had already published
his first book. In 1990 he moved to the United Kingdom and joined the University
of Oxford, where he developed and evaluated analgesic interventions for
the treatment of acute, chronic and cancer pain. Dr. Jadad became one
of the first physicians in the world with a doctorate in knowledge
synthesis when he obtained a Doctor of Philosophy degree at University
of Oxford (Balliol College) in 1994. He moved to Canada in 1995 and
joined the Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics at
McMaster University, where he held several key positions, including
Chief of the Health Information Research Unit. In 2000, Dr. Jadad moved
to Toronto to become the Inaugural Rose Family Chair in Supportive Care
at University of Toronto, and the first Director of the Program in
eHealth Innovation at University Health Network and the University of Toronto.
Time Magazine has featured Dr. Jadad on two occasions, once in
2001 as one of the new Canadians who will shape the country in the 21st
century and then again in April of 2002 when his work at the Centre for
Global eHealth Innovation was profiled as an example of leading edge
research in the post boomer era. Dr. Jadad s extensive list of
outstanding achievements also includes a Canada Research Chair award in
eHealth Innovation by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, and
the receipt of the 2002 New Pioneers Award in Science and Technology.
Dr. Jadad is a self-avowed family man who enjoys spending time
with his wife and two children. He also likes to play the piano and
perform close-up card tricks, both at a basic level.
For more information
Shirley Fenton
Managing Director, WIHIR
The infraNET Project
Computer Systems Group, University of Waterloo
(519) 888-4074
Seminar Hosts
This seminar is hosted by the Waterloo Institute for
Health Informatics Research (WIHIR) and The infraNET Project,
University of Waterloo.
The infraNET Project, initiated by the
University of Waterloo in 1996, is a partnership to advance Web and
Internet technologies. Its founding partners are: LivePage (now part
of Siebel), MKS, Open Text, RIM, Sybase (Waterloo) and Waterloo Maple.
We also gratefully acknowledge the
assistance of the Institute for Computer Research, University of
Waterloo.
