Longwoods Healthcare Services Radio

What Health Leaders Can Do Next

Featuring:

Moderator: Lisa Schaffer, Executive Director, Obesity Canada

Dr. Sanjeev Sockalingam, Scientific Director, Obesity Canada

Meghan Belland, Executive Director, Primary Care Alberta

Tracey Bartie, Advocate, Living Grace Foundation

Dr. Tasneem Sajwani, Medical Director, Edmonton Weight Management Centre

Obesity is one of the most common chronic diseases affecting Canadians, yet care remains fragmented, under-measured and difficult to access. Science has advanced, clinical guidance has evolved, and treatment options have expanded. But for many Canadians living with obesity, care continues to be fragmented, difficult to access and inadequately integrated into chronic disease management.

This Leadership Discussion will examine what it will take to move from evidence to implementation, with a particular focus on the importance of primary care as the foundation of chronic disease management.

Drawing on findings from Obesity Canada’s forthcoming State of Obesity Care in Canada report, the discussion will examine key gaps in recognition, measurement, access, provider education and team-based care. It will also connect these findings to Obesity Canada’s Cost of Inaction research, which highlights the significant health system, workforce and economic impact of untreated obesity in Canada.

The conversation will examine how healthcare systems can better support primary care teams to identify, assess and manage obesity as a chronic disease through integrated pathways, team-based care, and improved access to evidence-based treatment. Alberta's evolving primary care landscape, including the Memorandum of Understanding between Obesity Canada and Primary Care Alberta, will provide a practical example of how implementation efforts can be advanced through cross-sector collaboration.

Bringing together health system leadership, clinical expertise, policy perspective and lived experience, this session will focus on a practical question facing healthcare leaders: what will it take to make evidence-based obesity care a part of chronic disease care in Canada?

This event is supported by Novo Nordisk Canada and Obesity Canada

A discussion on Canada's national strategy on drugs for rare diseases and what does it really mean to live with a rare disease in Canada

Featuring:

Dr. Ryan Thomas: Dr. Thomas is a family physician and Clinical Associate at UHN's Elisabeth Raab Neurofibromatosis Clinic. He is also an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Toronto Department of Family & Community Medicine, and a person living with neurofibromatosis type 1, or NF1.

 

Alice Williams: Alice is a healthcare advocate, a caregiver, co-founder of the Ontario Rare Action Group, and Canada chapter director of the Wilson Disease Association. Alice brings extensive experience supporting and advocating alongside people and families affected by rare disease.

 

and moderated by: Dr. Homira Osman: Dr. Osman is Vice President of Research, Public Policy & Programs at Muscular Dystrophy Canada, where she leads national efforts to transform the landscape of neuromuscular research, care, and policy in Canada. She is also the co-lead investigator for the Steering Committee Co-chair of the Neuromuscular Disease Network for Canada, focusing on strategy, leadership, and the integration of patient and clinician perspectives across research, clinical care, and policy.

 

The production of this podcast was supported by Alexion Canada

 

Additional Resources

Longwoods Leadership Discussion Building on Progress: Charting the Future of Canada's Rare Disease Strategy

The National Strategy for Drugs for Rare Diseases - Canada.ca

 

COMING SOON!

A 3 part limited series podcast on Improving Equity in Access to Palliative Care with Healthcare Excellence Canada and Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. Healthcare Quarterly presents this series along with a special issue available soon at healthcarequarterly.com.

A conversation with the two leaders in integrated care and co-editors of Healthcare Quarterly. We'll explore the journal, learn more about integrated care and maybe offer a special little tidbit. 

Editors of Healthcare Quarterly
Dr. Anne Wojtak, East Toronto Health Partners and University of Toronto 
Dr. Richard Lewanczuk, University of Alberta

Dr. Sara Allin is the co-editor for the Longwoods journal HealthcarePapers, as well Director of the North American Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and an Associate Professor of Health Policy at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto.

In this session we'll learn a little more about Sara, her work in health policy and her role with the Longwoods journal HealthcarePapers

How to Fight for What You Need: Advocating for Care in Canada’s Health Care System

Canada’s healthcare system is built on principles of universality and access, yet many patients and families experience delays, confusion, barriers and frustration when trying to secure the care they need.

In this timely conversation, Michael Decter and Mike McCarthy draw on decades of experience from inside the system and on the front lines of advocacy to explore what navigating healthcare actually looks like in practice.

Based on their new book, The Canadian Health Care Guerrilla Handbook: How to Fight for What You Need, this discussion will examine why persistence, strategy and informed advocacy often matter as much as policy; what healthcare leaders and institutions can learn from patient experiences; and how Canadians can better understand the system they rely on.

This session will offer practical insights, compelling real-world stories and thoughtful discussion for healthcare leaders, administrators, policymakers and providers.

Featuring:

Michael Decter, Former Ontario Deputy Minister of Health

Mike McCarthy, Canadian Patient Advocate, Healthcare Consultant, and Expert in Navigating Complex Health Systems

Moderator: Shelley Ambrose, Publisher, Journalist, Producer, and Executive

In this episode, the discussion examines whether Prime Minister Mark Carney's 2025 pledge to “build a stronger Canadian health care system” can be trusted—exploring provincial budget limits, public appetite for targeted healthcare spending, and the trade-offs between building hospitals, hiring doctors, and strengthening community care to unclog emergency departments.

The episode outlines the signals to watch (large federal–provincial funding deals versus stricter Canada Health Act enforcement), argues for nuanced, value-driven investments rather than headline splurges, and urges listeners to research party promises and vote with healthcare in mind. This recording uses AI voice technology and is not Jason M. Sutherland.

Healthcare Policy / Politiques de Santé is a peer‑reviewed academic journal published by Longwoods Publishing in Canada. Focusing on healthcare policy research and policy translation, with an emphasis on issues relevant to health systems, governance, financing, and service delivery, particularly in Canada but with international relevance as well.

 

Join Jason Sutherland, Editor-in-Chief for Healthcare Policy as he discusses the requirements and wants and needs to have your manuscript published. 

 

Canada’s progress toward a fully connected health system is measured not just in policies and plans but in how systems actually work together. Projectathons are where that vision is put to the test – structured, non-competitive events that bring together vendors, jurisdictions, and clinical leaders to validate whether digital health solutions can exchange information securely and consistently across the country.

A prime example of a Projectathon tested standard is the Pan-Canadian Patient Summary (PS-CA) specification, which defines a common way to capture and share essential health information, medications, allergies, immunizations, and more, so it can travel with patients throughout their care journey. By testing against PS-CA, vendors and jurisdictions prove their systems can create and consume a standardized summary directly within clinical workflows, ensuring that vital health information is available whenever and wherever it is needed.

This session will explore how Projectathons accelerate standards adoption, identify issues early, and give governments, vendors, and providers confidence that solutions are ready for care settings. We’ll reflect on lessons learned from Canadian and international events and preview what’s next, including the upcoming Canadian Projectathon.

It’s a fitting finale: a look back at progress and a look forward to how innovation is tested, refined, and accelerated in the real world.

Featured Speakers:

• Allana Cameron, Product Director for the Patient Summary, Canada Health Infoway,
• Daniel Berezeanu, Product Manager, IHE Catalyst,
• Brandon Blanck, President and CEO, Healthquest and
• Moderator: Edwin White Chacon, Manager, Enablement Services, Canada Health Infoway

A connected health system cannot be built within technological silos or fragmented partnerships. It requires sustained collaboration across government, industry, clinical leaders, patients and communities, and many more, who share a vision for more modern, efficient, and collaborative care.

This session will explore how strategic public-private partnerships are accelerating Canada’s digital health transformation, while also helping to address long-standing challenges such as data fragmentation, clinician burden, and scaling digital pilots into sustainable system-wide solutions. At the heart of the discussion is Canada Health Infoway’s Vendor Innovation Program (VIP), a national initiative that supports vendors in developing solutions that are standards-based, clinically grounded, and ready to scale.

Featured Speakers:

• Ashley Miller, Chief Medical Information Officer, Nova Scotia Health & IWK Health,
• Mike Forseth, Chief Executive Officer, Ava,
• Darek Szadkowski, Vice President of Strategy, Programs, and Partnerships, Canada Health Infoway and
• Moderator: Edwin White Chacon, Manager, Enablement Services, Canada Health Infoway