• Dr. Elizabeth Borycki, a tenured Professor in the School of Health Information Science and an Adjunct Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Victoria
• Shelly Cory, Executive Director of Canadian Virtual Hospice
• Dr. Kathryn Hannah, Health Informatics Advisor to the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) and Executive Project Leader of the Canadian Health Outcomes for Better Information and Care project
• Elizabeth Keller, Vice-President Product Strategy & Delivery for OntarioMD (OMD)
• Shelagh Maloney, Vice President, Consumer Health, Communications and Evaluation Services, Canada Health Infoway
• Dr. Lynn Nagle, Assistant Professor at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto
• Dr. Maureen O’Donnell, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia (UBC) and Executive Director, Child Health BC
• Diane Salois-Swallow, Chief Information Officer, MacKenzie Health
• Shirlee Sharkey, President and CEO, Saint Elizabeth Health Care
• Heather Sulkers, Director of Clinical Informatics, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

The Women Leaders in Digital Health Award was created to celebrate the top ten female visionaries who are harnessing the power of IT to transform health and healthcare in Canada. The award is inclusive of all women of influence in health information technology, no matter what their specialty, and is open to all women in the digital health community in Canada.

Finalists were selected from peer-nominated submissions by the 2017 Women Leaders in Digital Health Award Adjudication Committee, consisting of Canadian health industry professionals. The selected finalists were acknowledged as having contributed to the advancement of digital health through leadership and influence in their jurisdiction or nationally; involvement with organizational change or transformation through technology; and impact on health outcomes or health system improvements.

Digital Health Canada board member Susan Anderson, Managing Director at Orion Health, led the creation of the new award. Her vision was for an award one that would celebrate leadership in two specific groups: women in digital health, and everyday leaders whose achievements go unrecognized in the industry.

In the context of the Women Leaders in Digital Health Award, leadership can be found in anyone willing to challenge themselves by stretching their personal goals. Leadership behavior, regardless of position, includes mentoring, communicating with confidence, collaborating, and striving daily to provide a positive example and create a rewarding experience for others.

“The beauty of the digital health industry is that it creates more opportunities for leadership,” says Ms. Anderson. “Not just within organizations, but across the entire digital health network. Development opportunities across the industry enable people with leadership initiative to break out of their traditional roles and participate. I think more and more organizations are encouraging employees to reach out, volunteer, connect, and engage.”

Digital Health Canada congratulates the winners of this year’s Women Leaders in Digital Health Award.

Read more about the winners here.

Read an interview with Susan Anderson here.

www.digitalhealthcanada.com