As Canada’s healthcare system becomes increasingly digital, safeguarding patient data has never been more critical or more complex. This session explores why data sovereignty in healthcare is no longer a “future issue” but a national priority for building a more resilient healthcare system. It will examine the evolving risks associated with data breaches, cross-border data exposure, and foreign control, and why these issues demand immediate attention from healthcare and technology leaders.
The session will also explore how health data sovereignty enables innovation, research, and improved patient outcomes when supported by secure, large-scale clinical data infrastructure. Moving beyond limited administrative datasets, it will examine how responsibly governed clinical data can support system planning, accelerate clinical trials, and advance health AI. Drawing on Canadian and international examples, the discussion will highlight how countries such as the UK, EU, and US are leveraging nationally governed health data to strengthen healthcare delivery and economic competitiveness and what Canada must do to avoid falling behind.
Presented by:
Craig McLellan, CEO, ThinkOn Inc.
Craig McLellan, Founder and CEO of Think On, Inc. has been at the forefront of technology innovation and data security in Canada and the U.S. for the past twenty-five years. Under Craig’s leadership, ThinkOn continues to grow, both organically and through strategic acquisition, and has been ranked on both the Deloitte Technology Fast 500™ and The Globe and Mail’s list of Canada’s Top Growing Companies. A pioneer in cloud services, ThinkOn was one of the first companies in the world to receive VMware Cloud Verified certification and was recently recognized as the VMware Sovereign Cloud Partner for Canada. Craig currently sits on advisory boards for several industry-leading organizations including Veeam, Hitachi, and VMware, where he helps to guide strategy. In his free time, Craig enjoys baseball, spending time outdoors and flying his drone.
Fahad Razak, University of Toronto
Fahad Razak is an internist at St Michael’s Hospital and Canada Research Chair in Data-Informed Health Care Improvement at the University of Toronto. He co-founded GEMINI, the largest hospital research network in Canada, and has received over $200 million in funding as Principal Investigator. GEMINI is used by an active community of more than 1000 scientists, and health system leaders.
Fahad completed a degree in Engineering Science and Medical Doctorate at the University of Toronto, and was the first physician appointed as the David E. Bell Fellow at Harvard University. He served as Scientific Director for the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table and contributed to over 50 science and policy briefs that shaped Canada’s response to the pandemic. He was a member of the Federal Expert Panel on Science Advisory and Research convened by Health Canada, is a Faculty Affiliate at the Vector Institute, Vice President for Research at the Canadian Society of Internal Medicine, inaugural Chair of the Advisory Committee for Science at the Public Health Agency of Canada, and on the advisory board of the BMJ.
Earn One Continuing Education Unit (CEU) for attending this webinar.
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