I had the privilege of being asked to speak at the OntarioMD Digital Health Virtual Conference last week. There were almost 600 people in attendance, but if you could not be, here is a written transcript of my talk and the questions that followed! Longer than my usual posts, but hopefully worth the long…
Part 5 of the Rise Up Series: Practical Paths to Healthcare Transformation By Darren Larsen, MD | DarrenLarsen.com I’ve been using EMRs for nearly two decades. The product I use today is functionally identical to what I bought in 2007. Two decades of technological revolution’smartphones, cloud computing, artificial intelligence’and my clinical software has barely changed.…
Part 4 of the Rise Up Series: Practical Paths to Healthcare Transformation By Darren Larsen, MD | DarrenLarsen.com We’re tired. I know. The cognitive load of modern practice is immense – the endless documentation, the referral chasing, the systems that seem designed to slow us down rather than help us care for patients. Most days…
Part 3 of the Rise Up Series: Practical Paths to Healthcare Transformation By Darren Larsen, MD | DarrenLarsen.com Medical associations, regulatory colleges, and universities occupy a unique position in Canadian healthcare. You’re trusted by clinicians in ways that governments and vendors are not. You shape training, standards, and professional identity. You have convening power that…
Part 1 of the Rise Up Series: Practical Paths to Healthcare Transformation By Darren Larsen, MD | DarrenLarsen.com Governments across Canada are sitting on a historic opportunity. Billions of dollars are flowing into healthcare. Public frustration with the system is at an all-time high. Technology that could transform care delivery exists today. And yet, progress…
First of a five part exploration I was listening to a podcast recently about the astonishing pace of AI development. New models dropping weekly. Companies raising billions. Technology reshaping industries seemingly overnight. And then it struck me: we don’t have this in healthcare. Like everything, transformation seems to come to healthcare late. AI can write…
This post is a summary of a class I gave yesterday to the Master’s eHealth students at McMaster Univeristy. I think it might apply to all of us though, as we try to lead change in digital health and healthcare across the board. Introduction Ontario’s health system is under enormous pressure. Every part of the…
A practical guide for Ontario family doctors and clinic teams Let’s be real: most of us didn’t go into medicine thinking we’d have to become IT security experts. We’re running busy primary care practices, juggling patients, staffing, billing, and paperwork—cybersecurity feels like something for hospitals or banks to worry about. But here’s the truth: community clinics…
In today’s digitized healthcare landscape, primary care physicians are unwittingly standing at the edge of a cybersecurity cliff—and many don’t realize it. For most community doctors, cybersecurity barely registers in the long list of their daily demands. Yet the risks are growing, the stakes are high, and the solutions—while complex—are within reach if we take…
On February 23rd I was honoured to speak at the Canadian Global Oncology Network Conference in Montreal. I was asked to talk about the role of agencies, medical associations and industry in carrying the flag for advancing global health, specifically in the world of cancer care. The following is a summary of my talk. Thank…
