About Us
There is an inevitable evolution, some might even say revolution, that is taking place in healthcare. This inevitability, termed Patient Destiny, pertains to the fact that patients are beginning to demand immediate and timely access to their own health information. Patients want this access in order, ultimately, to partner with providers in the management of their health and wellness care.
The goal of Patient Destiny is an informed patient: a person who has all the appropriate information in hand and who is, thereby, able to work within the system to obtain the best healthcare services and outcomes. When patients access their own information, they can be more effective in managing their care because it allows them to work with their providers to respond earlier and more directly to the patients’ needs.
Where appropriate, as patients bypass the “hands-on” personal method of provider face-to-face interaction and obtain health information for themselves, great savings will be gained, health outcomes will improve, and consequently, a tremendous amount of strain will be removed from the healthcare system. This eventuality requires patient management and it is impossible for patients to manage their health without the requisite information!
Therefore, Patient Destiny believes in developing an electronic health record (EHR) for all Ontarians that can be accessed by the continuum of healthcare providers as well as by patients themselves which we believe will then lead to improved health outcomes.
Kevin Leonard, Founder/Executive Director, was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease 40 years ago. Managing his chronic disease has involved numerous and extensive interactions with the healthcare system. Kevin is a strong believer in patient empowerment and the critical role patients play in deciding about their care in consultation and collaboration with their health providers. Patient Destiny believes that to play this role, patients need timely access to their health information in electronic format.
Kevin received his PhD from the Joint Doctoral Program in Montreal where he specialized in Statistics and Information Systems Theory for Business. He is Associate Professor, Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (HPME), Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, and Research Scientist with the Centre for Global eHealth Innovation, University Health Network. As Executive Director of the IMPROVE-IT Institute [Indices Measuring Performance Relating Outcomes, Value and Expenditure from Information Technology (www.improve-it-institute.org)], Kevin is working with the healthcare community to measure the benefits of IT investment.
Kevin can be reached at kevin@patientdestiny.com.
Doug Gosling, Principal, is a full-time patient fighting terminal cancer. In addition to his personal battles, he is a fierce proponent of patient rights, advocating aggressively for patients to be more involved in their personal health as well as planning and decision-making across all aspects of healthcare. Key to this is empowering patients by providing meaningful access and control over their personal health information. Doug is also an author, a blogger and an active healthcare volunteer. His book, The Wolf at my Door, is an intimate exploration of his personal experience with cancer and interactions with the healthcare system. He blogs regularly at www.talkingaboutcancer.com on the emotional impact of cancer and on important patient issues at www.patientdestiny.com.
Doug holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto, an MBA from York University, and has worked in information technology for over 25 years. He is a member of the Advisory Board for the Canadian Association for People-Centred Health (www.capch.ca), and provides advice and guidance to a number of healthcare institutions and organizations.
Doug can be reached at doug@patientdestiny.com.
Sandra Dalziel, Program Manager, is Kevin Leonard’s wife of 29 years and at times, his caregiver. Partnering with Kevin to manage his chronic disease has entailed significant and extensive interactions with the healthcare system. Sandra has acted as Kevin’s advocate and understands how difficult it can be to navigate our system today. As a care team member, Sandra believes strongly that caregivers should also be able to access the patient’s health information and that their voice be recognized and valued by health providers.
Sandra has committed full-time to Patient Destiny since 2008. Sandra holds a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy from McGill University and an MBA from the University of Ottawa. She has worked as an occupational therapist in clinical and community settings, and has held managerial positions in organizations that have included the Ontario Telemedicine Network, The Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care/Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto Central Community Care Access Centre and Cystic Fibrosis Canada.
Sandra can be reached at sandra@patientdestiny.com.
Diane Charter, Communications Manager, is a writer/editor with a background in nursing and journalism and more than 35 years of experience in healthcare communications, in both the institutional and community care sectors. For three years she was the primary caregiver and healthcare advocate for her long-time partner and this experience made her a strong proponent of patients and caregivers being recognized as equal partners with their healthcare providers. And she strongly believes this requires that patients and caregivers have timely access to their health records to better manage their own care.
A community activist, Diane has served on the Board of the Regent Park Community Health Centre, as well as on boards, committees and in mentorship and education roles with other community-based service organizations in Newmarket and in Parkdale.
Diane can be reached at diane@patientdestiny.com.
Michael Millar, Chief Technical Imagineer, is a new age technical guru. In 2007 he suffered a compound dislocation of his ankle from playing volleyball which led to his first hospital inpatient experience. Although the care offered to him was exceptional, Michael was shocked to see state of information technology within the healthcare system. From continual miscommunications, repetitive data entry, lack of accessible information and a dangerously abrupt discharge, it was hard to believe that this was the state of care in the 21st century. Michael believes that it’s time for healthcare technology to catch up to the rest of the world, and he sees the empowerment of patients with access to their own information as a key milestone in that process.
Michael holds a Bachelor of Science, Computer Science Major, degree from the University of Alberta and recently completed the Master of Health Informatics program at the University of Toronto. He has worked as a social media consultant for numerous health organizations and is the President and Owner of Verto Inc., a company that develops ICT solutions for the healthcare industry.
Michael can be reached at mike@patientdestiny.com.
This is a book that is targeted at all patients. Throughout the book, I present how changing technology has affected our society in a number of industries (education, banking and sports/entertainment) culminating in a discussion on healthcare. I discuss my role in each of these industries as a change agent and illustrate how the industries have matured as a result of rising consumerism and greater expectations relating to information access and delivery. The overall objective is, through the art of storytelling, to illustrate how each of these industries has dealt with change and changing technology and the similarities (and differences) when compared to healthcare. Hopefully, these illustrations will provide insight into moving the healthcare industry forward as well as an incentive to all consumers, the healthy and the patients, to become more involved in their own care and health management and to expect more from health providers.
