OntarioMD appoints new Chief Medical Officer

TORONTO – OntarioMD has announced the appointment of Dr. Chandi Chandrasena (pictured) as its new Chief Medical Officer (CMO) effective April 19, 2021. Dr. Chandrasena is a family physician who has been practicing in a Family Health Organization in Ottawa for almost 20 years, where she is also the IT lead and privacy officer.

She is an innovative leader who understands the challenges of community practice and the complexity of the healthcare system.

“OntarioMD is delighted to have Dr. Chandrasena join us as our chief medical officer,” said Sarah Hutchison, CEO, OntarioMD. “She has been an active leader in educating Ontario clinicians and their staff about the benefits of digital health to empower practices and the patients they care for.”

As CMO, Dr. Chandrasena will provide the clinical perspective and advice to inform current and future digital health products and services for Ontario clinicians to add increasing value to patient care.

Dr. Chandrasena has been a tireless champion of supporting clinicians to adopt certified electronic medical records (EMRs) and digital health and virtual care tools. She has been an OntarioMD physician peer leader since 2015, mentoring physicians and practice staff to incorporate technology effectively into their workflows.

She has also shown them how to make incremental quality improvements by leveraging their EMRs and integrated digital health tools such as HRM (Health Report Manager), Ontario Laboratories Information System, Insights4Care Dashboard and eConsult.

Dr. Chandrasena is a regular speaker at OntarioMD conferences, where she provides practical tips and best practices on certified EMRs, integrated digital health tools, as well as medical mobile apps that clinician practices have found valuable for patient care. She also works closely with the Continuing Medical Education Department at the University of Ottawa.

Since 2012, Dr. Chandrasena has held various roles at the Ontario Medical Association (OMA). She was the elected Chair (2018-2020) for the OMA’s District 8 and has advised the Champlain Local Health Integration Network on local issues and clinician-facing solutions. She has had roles on several Boards and Executive Committees and co-chaired committees on virtual care and digital technology.