Department of Medicine Weekly Roundup - May 1
Dear Colleagues,
As further testament to all the amazing things that our DOM group does, a number of our members and their initiatives were highlighted in the CEO’s message. In fact, we were featured in everyone of them except for the last one. That being said, our structural heart group is working with a company that makes robotic TMVR and anticipate doing their very first case in the near future. We anticipate being featured in next year’s message J.
Natalie
Interim Physician-in-Chief
Message from the President and CEO: Happy National Physicians' Day 2025
To all our Unity Health Physicians,
This National Physicians’ Day, please accept my sincere gratitude for your commitment to excellence in patient care, education, research and innovation. At Unity Health, our mission is to deliver the highest quality of care to everyone we serve – and your dedication plays a vital role in shaping the experiences of our patients and residents each day.
I am grateful for your partnership and leadership in advancing our organizational priorities, including the development and implementation of Epic, our new electronic health record system. Your active involvement, feedback and commitment have been critical to ensuring that Epic is designed to support high quality, patient-centred care. Your engagement has helped shape a system that will improve workflows, enhance communication, and benefit our patients, staff, learners, and communities.
In addition to your leadership on Epic, here are a few ways you have helped Unity Health deliver on our vision: The best care experiences. Created Together.
- Creating cross-site collaboration: The St. Michael’s Geriatric Program expanded further across Providence, giving older rehabilitation patients access to comprehensive geriatric consultations. Thanks to the leadership and expertise of our physicians, this expansion has strengthened care across our network, improving outcomes for elderly patients.
- Connecting communities to timely, integrated care: At St. Joseph’s, the Acute Internal Medicine (AIM) Clinic celebrated its one-year anniversary this year, with more than 2,400 patient visits, and many patients avoiding hospital admissions. With physician collaboration, this clinic provides care to patients where and when they need it, while avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions. It is also developing system partnerships, through programs like SCOPE.
- Revolutionizing care through digital transformation: VITAL is the next phase of GEMINI, an AI platform that started at St. Michael’s and harnesses hospital data. It recently secured a $30-million federal investment to help create one of the largest and most diverse health data platforms in the world, expanding GEMINI across three provinces and 20 million Canadians. Led by physician-scientists, it will enable infrastructure for clinical trials, quality improvement and learning health systems, positioning Unity Health as a leader in Canadian health data infrastructure.
- Leading in world-class specialty care: Providence recently opened the Stroke and Neurology Clinic, driven by the commitment of our medical teams to provide specialized, timely care. With physician leadership at the forefront, the clinic is improving access to critical and world-class services in the East end, and making sure patients receive coordinated, expert treatment close to home.
- Reimagining teaching and learning: With the leadership and collaboration of physician educators, Unity Health is preparing the next generation of medical professionals. This past year, more than 3,500 undergraduate medical learners, residents and fellows benefitted from the knowledge and expertise of Unity Health doctors and their teams.
- Driving world-class research and innovation: This year, St. Michael’s became the first hospital in Toronto to successfully perform a robotic mitral valve repair – making us one of the few places in Canada with the expertise to offer this surgery. Driven by physicians, innovations like this mean Unity Health patients benefit from the most advanced technology, and generate new knowledge to impact care beyond our walls.
Our network and communities are stronger because of your dedication to your profession. Through your careful consultation, compassionate care, and personalized treatment plans, our patients and residents feel heard, supported and cared for throughout their health journeys. Your leadership as physicians continues to drive innovation and collaboration across our network, and inspire the next generation of health care professionals.
Thank you for the role you play across our network and within the health care system. Unity Health physicians live and embody our organization’s core values in interactions with patients, families and colleagues. I am proud of the exceptional care you provide every day.
Happy Physicians’ Day!
Tim Rutledge
President and CEO
Unity Health Toronto
Please see below for the following updates:
- President’s Impact Academy Winner: Knowledge Translation Program
- 60 Minutes: Bird flu poses growing risk to people as pathogen spreads
- Update on the transition from WebCV to Elements
- Fahad Razak, Samir Sinha and David Naylor discuss their work on Canada's pandemic response
- Year 1 agreement supports new parents
- Congratulations to Dr. Laura Chu!
The Knowledge Translation program, led by Dr. Sharon Straus, has been awarded the President’s Impact Academy Award in recognition of its excellence in knowledge synthesis, guideline development, and evidence-based implementation research—efforts that have significantly enhanced patient care quality and strengthened health systems both in Canada and globally.
President’s Impact Academy Winner: Knowledge Translation Program
Watch the full segment to hear Dr. Kamran Khan’s expert perspective and learn more about how bird flu is spreading—and why it matters to us all. Bird flu risk grows as pathogen spreads – 60 Minutes
Dear DoM Faculty,
The transition from WebCV to Elements is still in progress. To keep everyone informed about timelines and processes during this transition phase, the Temerty Faculty of Medicine MedIT Elements team has provided the following information:
Transition Timelines and Progress
What is the current timeline for switching from WebCV to Elements?
The transition will take place throughout 2025 and into 2026. The current end date for user access for WebCV is March 31, 2026. The contract was extended for an additional year to ensure that the reporting capabilities currently available in WebCV could be successfully added to Elements. Custom reports for Elements are in development and will be released in 2025.
While it is possible for faculty to login to their Elements profiles now, we are asking faculty to hold off on entering further data until the batch uploads from WebCV are complete and training documents are provided. MedIT will issue an updated message over the summer confirming when profiles are ready to be updated and providing links to training materials.
Can I still use WebCV in the interim?
Yes! WebCV will continue to be available until March 31, 2026, and before closing out the system, MedIT will do a final extraction of all the records stored there. Faculty are welcome to continue to use the platform, however, data entry support is limited to those in the active promotion cycles.
This CBC article examines Canada's current COVID-19 landscape, highlighting the challenges in tracking the virus due to reduced testing and data collection, and emphasizing the importance of continued vigilance and updated public health strategies as the pandemic evolves.
*Sent on behalf of Dr. Cathy Faulds, OMA Board Chair*
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Dear colleagues, For so many of our members, balancing the demands of being a doctor with the added responsibilities of parenthood can be stressful and challenging. That’s why I am pleased to announce a new agreement with the Ministry of Health to offer Ontario doctors one of the most generous parental leave programs in the country. These benefits will give parents more financial support while they are on parental leave, and provide the birth parent more time with their newborn. The agreement is part of the Year 1 targeted physician compensation investments in the 2024-2028 Physician Services Agreement. It follows last week’s announcement on arbitrated awards for emergency medicine and rural and northern Ontario health care. What’s changed? The maximum benefit has increased substantially — from $1,300 per week to $2,000, with a much higher allowance for the income the parent on leave can earn. In addition, the birth parent has access to five more weeks of leave. Here are the details: |
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