IHE Innovation Forum II - Making Difficult Decisions

Making Difficult Decisions: Key People

Speaker Biographies


Speakers

Dr. Stephen Duckett

Dr. Stephen Duckett has spent his professional life working in health care. As Alberta Health Services' new President and Chief Executive Officer (effective March 23, 2009). He has more than 35 years of experience in health care.

Prior to coming to Alberta, Dr. Duckett was Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Healthcare Improvement for Queensland Health in Australia. (Queensland occupies the north east of the Australian continent and is roughly triple the size of Alberta; Queensland health is the public provider with approximately 60,000 staff.)

Before that, he was a professor of Health Policy and Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences for 10 years at La Trobe University in Melbourne. He also chaired the board of a major public health provider, Alfred Health. Dr. Duckett's work in health care also includes two years with the Government of Australia as Secretary (equivalent to Deputy Minister) to the Department of Human Services and Health.

In 2006, Dr. Duckett received a Doctor of Business Administration in Higher Education Management from the University of Bath in the United Kingdom. That same year, he also received a Doctor of Science Award based on his publications from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He has a PhD in Health Administration from the University of New South Wales and a Bachelor of Economics (Economics and Pure Mathematics) from the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia.

Dr. Chris Henshall

Chris Henshall is Pro-Vice-Chancellor for External Relations at the University of York from where he leads various University spin-out companies and joint ventures. He has also served as Director of the Science and Engineering Base Group in the Office of Science and Technology in the Department of Trade and Industry in London, and as Deputy Director of Research and Development in the Department of Health. Here he helped to establish the NHS HTA Programme, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, and with colleagues in other countries, the International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment (INAHTA). Over the years, he has also been involved in various initiatives to promote and co-ordinate HTA across Europe. Dr. Henshall was the Founding President of Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) which is now established as the international society for the rapidly expanding body of professionals involved in doing, using or developing HTA in health care, industry and government.

Mr. Fred Horne

Fred Horne was elected to his first term as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Edmonton-Rutherford on March 3, 2008. In addition to his regular duties as MLA, he serves as chair of the Standing Committee on Health, deputy chair of the Premier’s Council on the Status of Persons with Disabilities and is a member of the Agenda and Priorities Committee, Private Members Business Committee, Legislative Offices Committee and the Select Special Chief Electoral Officer Search Committee. Prior to being elected, he worked as a health policy consultant for over 25 years, serving various government bodies and regional health authorities in addition to the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.

Throughout his career Mr. Horne has led initiatives to improve access and quality in Canadian public health care and has worked extensively with the Conference Board of Canada, the Alberta government and the Mayo Clinic. An avid volunteer, he has served on numerous boards including: Alberta Mental Health Board, Athabasca University, Mediation and Restorative Justice Centre of Edmonton, Canadian Student Debating Federation. Additionally, Mr. Horne is a former debater and coached Team Canada at the World Schools Debating Championships. For his continued contributions to the development of debate and speech programs he received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002. He and his wife, Jennifer, have lived in Edmonton since 1992.

Dr. Tom Noseworthy

Tom Noseworthy is a Professor of Health Policy and Management in the Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary. Dr. Noseworthy is the former Vice President, Medical Services, and CEO of the Royal Alexandra Hospitals, and Chair of the Department of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta. He holds a Master of Science in Experimental Medicine from the University of Alberta, and a Master of Public Health ? Health Policy and Management from Harvard University. Dr. Noseworthy is a physician with specialty certification in the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and the American Colleges of Physicians, American College of Chest Physicians, and American College of Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Noseworthy has been a member of the National Statistics Council since 1999. He served as a member of the Prime Minister’s National Forum on Health from 1994?1997, and chaired the Steering Committee; co?chaired the Advisory Council on Health Infostructure (Federal Health Minister) from 1997? 1999; chaired the Senior Reference Committee for Alberta Wellnet from 1997? 2002; and, was Chair of the Western Canada Waiting List Project from 1999 2006, and now chairs the research collaboration known as the Western Canada Waiting List Investigators. He was a founding Director of Canadian Doctors for Medicare in 2007.

Tom Noseworthy’s research has been published in over 90 papers and book chapters and focuses on health care access and improving quality management of waiting times for scheduled services. In 2005, Dr. Noseworthy was awarded the Alberta Centennial Medal by the Province of Alberta for contributions to health care and policy and was named as one of Alberta’s top 100 Physicians of the Century by the Alberta Medical Association and College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta. In 2007, Dr. Noseworthy was named by the Governor General as a Member of the Order of Canada for contributions to health policy and Medicare.

Sir Michael Rawlins

Sir Michael Rawlins has been chairman of the National Institute of Health & Clinical Excellence (NICE) since its formation in 1999. He is also an Honorary Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, and Emeritus Professor at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He was the Ruth and Lionel Jacobson Professor of Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne from 1973 to 2006 .At the same time he held the position of consultant physician and consultant clinical pharmacologist to the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust. Dr. Rawlins was formerly vice-chairman (1987-1992) and chairman (1993-1998) of the Committee on Safety of Medicines; and chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (1998 - 2008).

Mr. Greg Szabo

In his current position as Executive Director, Policy & Reimbursement, for Merck Frosst Canada, Gregg Szabo has responsibility for federal and provincial government affairs, health and economic policy, and outcomes research. This includes providing input on pharmaceutical and related health and industrial policies to provincial and federal governments. Mr. Szabo has been with Merck Frosst since 1990 after graduating with a Masters of Business Administration from McGill University. He has a wide knowledge of various aspects of the industry having worked in sales, marketing, and corporate affairs. Mr. Szabo serves on a number of industry association committees. He is currently Vice-Chairman of the Policy Committee and past Vice-Chairman of the Ontario Regional Committee of Canada's Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D). Mr. Szabo avidly believes that the life sciences research cluster will be a major driver of Canada's future prosperity and works extensively to fulfill this vision, including acting as a member of a number of boards and committees. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Biotechnology Council of Ontario and the board of the Alberta Institute for Health Economics. He is Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Ivey MBA Health Sector Stream.

Dr. Lorne Tyrrell

Lorne Tyrrell is the Chair of the Board, Institute of Health Economics. He is the CIHR/GlaxoSmithKline Chair in Virology at the University of Alberta. He is also the Chair of the Board of the Alberta Health Quality Council and Chair of the Gairdner Foundation and a member of the Research Council of the Canadian Institute of Academic Research. In 2004, he completed 10 years as the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta.

Dr. Tyrrell has won numerous awards at the University of Alberta (Rutherford Undergraduate Teaching Award, J. Gordin Kaplan Research Awards, and the University Cup). He won the ASTech Award for Research in 1993 and the Gold Medal of the Canadian Liver Foundation in 2000.

Dr. Tyrrell was appointed to the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2000, an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2002, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2004. He was awarded the F.N.G. Starr Award from the Canadian Medical Association in 2004 and the Principal Award of the Manning Foundation in 2005 for his work on the development of oral antivirals for the treatment of HBV.