Leaders who will grow the digital economy

In a world of WebMD and Google Health, Fitbits, and heartrate monitors, how do people make the best decisions for their health? How do they sift through the noise to find the information they want?

Canadians need to connect to the data and tools that will have an impact on their health. They need access to theory-derived, research-based knowledge to make more informed decisions. Without a doubt, data and modern technologies will improve the Canadian health care system.

The DeGroote School of Business is working to connect the system.

Our leaders in the digital economy are working to improve the Canadian health care system. To help doctors, physicians, and researchers make strategic decisions, mitigate risk, and drive innovation. They are improving the human condition, changing how people work, and transforming the world.

The researcher: Improving human health

Manaf Zargoush, Assistant Professor, Health Policy and Management

The Canadian health care system does not effectively utilize innovative technologies and modern management tools.

Zargoush is working to fix that. He is asking fundamental questions about how to improve the well-being of Canadians. He is solving health care problems by using machine learning, statistics, math, and computer science.

Zargoush has contributed to the digital economy by developing a tool to predict how and when older adults will experience functional disability. He’s tracking how seniors’ mobility changes with age. He has developed a model for personalized hypertension treatment. Furthermore, Zargoush is creating a model to predict how physicians think and make decisions.

He believes that machine learning and optimization for health care management are pivotal to improve the health and quality of life of Canadians.

The teacher: Optimizing the human experience

Karel Vredenburg, Industry Professor and Director, Global Academic Programs, Design at IBM

Canadian health care workers often function in silos. There is inadequate information sharing, poor multidisciplinary collaboration, and a general failure to serve patients in a coordinated way.

Vredenburg is working to erase these silos by teaching health leaders how to apply design thinking to solve problems and optimize the patient experience. It involves defining the challenges people face, collecting meaningful qualitative data, and redefining problems to identify alternative strategies and solutions.

He is a strong proponent of fostering a T-shaped person, someone who has deep skills in one or two disciplines (the vertical stroke on the T), and has broad skills that all disciplines should have (the horizontal stroke of the T). He believes that design thinking should be learned and practiced by all disciplines in the digital economy.

Health care providers need to work collaboratively across disciplines to develop new approaches for making patient care more practical, convenient, and affordable.

The students: Reimagining health care in the digital economy

It is time for fresh new leadership in Canadian health care. Canadians need new leaders to adopt innovative solutions to transform patient care and achieve more significant outcomes.

The DeGroote School of Business is building leaders for social impact.

Our students help reduce wait times in children’s hospitals, help political parties connect with a younger demographic, and partner with airlines to improve the health and wellness of travellers.

Programs like the Executive MBA in Digital Transformation teach how to use data to make strategic decisions, mitigate risk, and drive business innovation to make the world a better place.

The Executive MBA in Digital Transformation at the DeGroote School of Business is a unique program. Students learn how to manage digital systems, make data-driven decisions, and lead complex and diverse teams in digital environments.

DeGroote’s EMBA cohort recently returned from their Silicon Valley trip. Consequently, this puts them one step closer to becoming global leaders in the digital economy. Students gained first-hand insight from organizations and experts in the hub of technology and business. They learned how artificial intelligence and related technologies are beginning to apply to health care.

A vital aspect of this year’s module in Silicon Valley featured Kimberly Powell, Vice President / General Manager, Healthcare at NVIDIA. Through Powell, the EMBA cohort learned about new markets in deep learning, data analytics, and artificial intelligence. NVIDIA is delivering new efficiencies and possibilities to empower physicians, clinicians, and researchers to do their best work.

Canadians are in the driver’s seat

The DeGroote School of Business is working to improve the health care system to put Canadians in the driver’s seat – patients are in control of their health and well-being. It could also increase the ability of health care professionals to better understand the day-to-day patterns and needs of the people in their care.

Because the best decisions are those supported by good data. The best leaders are reimagining health care and business in the digital age.