Welcome to a special milestone episode of The HQ Podcast! And what better way to celebrate our 50th episode than with another inspiring and critically important conversation. Today, we dive into a topic that's rapidly reshaping all parts of our lives, including the future of healthcare: artificial intelligence (AI).

Dale’s conversation with Dr. Muhammad Mamdani, Vice President of Data Science and Advanced Analytics at Unity Health Toronto is a must listen for everyone.

To be clear, this isn’t just any discussion about AI – we’re bringing you an exclusive conversation with an organization, team, and leader that is leading the field in an area that promises to be at least part of the critical solution needed for not only healthcare’s sustainability, but its improvement and transformation. It also holds an exciting key to our health workforce challenges,

Dr. Mamdani's expertise and groundbreaking work at the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Education in Medicine makes him the perfect guest to unpack the promises and challenges of AI in healthcare. As we ponder the potential of AI, we can't ignore the pressing Health Human Resource crisis facing healthcare systems worldwide. Does AI innovation hold the promise to alleviate this crisis, offering solutions to ensure better healthcare access and delivery for all?

Join us as we engage with Dr. Mamdani to explore this question and discuss AI’s significance in modern healthcare, its role in tackling patient data challenges, and how leaders can leverage AI ethically without compromising decision-making capabilities.

Don't miss out on this milestone episode – it's one for the books!

Key Discussions:

• Defining AI in Healthcare: Dr. Mamdani elucidates what AI truly entails and its significance in modern healthcare.
• Addressing the Data Problem: We examine the role of AI in tackling the data challenges prevalent in healthcare systems.
• Impact on Clinicians and Health Services: Dr. Mamdani sheds light on how AI can empower clinicians and optimize healthcare services through data-driven insights.
• From Theory to Practice: Gain insights into the process of developing and implementing AI solutions in real-world healthcare scenarios.
• Translating AI into Practice: Explore practical applications of AI in healthcare, from managing emergency department volumes to optimizing patient flow and nurse staffing.
• Building AI Initiatives: Dr. Mamdani shares valuable insights on building successful AI initiatives, emphasizing the importance of infrastructure, teams, and organizational culture.
• Navigating Risks and Ethical Considerations: We discuss the ethical implications and risks associated with AI adoption in healthcare, including governance, privacy, bias, and security.

About Dr. Muhammad Mamdani, PharmD, MA, MPH

• Vice President – Data Science and Advanced Analytics at Unity Health Toronto
• Odette Chair in Advanced Analytics
• Faculty Affiliate – The Vector Institute
• Director – University of Toronto Temerty Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Education Medicine (T-CAIREM)
• Affiliate Scientist – IC/ES
• Professor, University of Toronto

Dr. Mamdani is Vice President of Data Science and Advanced Analytics at Unity Health Toronto and Director of the University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Education in Medicine (T-CAIREM). Dr. Mamdani’s team bridges advanced analytics including machine learning with clinical and management decision making to improve patient outcomes and hospital efficiency with over 50 AI solutions developed and deployed into clinical practice. Dr. Mamdani is also Professor in the Department of Medicine of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. He is also Affiliate Scientist at IC/ES and a Faculty Affiliate of the Vector Institute, which is a leading institution for artificial intelligence research in Canada. Further, Dr. Mamdani is a member of the Human Drug Advisory Panel of the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB).

Previously, Dr. Mamdani founded the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network (ODPRN), which is among the world’s most impactful collaborations between researchers and drug policy decision-makers. He was also the Founding Director of the Li Ka Shing Centre for Healthcare Analytics Research and Training (LKS-CHART) of Unity Health Toronto and the Founding Director of the Applied Health Research Centre (AHRC) of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of Unity Health Toronto, which is Toronto’s leading academic research organization focused on the design and implementation of multicentre clinical research initiatives including large randomized clinical trials.

In 2010, Dr. Mamdani was named among Canada’s Top 40 under 40. Prior to joining the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute and Unity Health Toronto, Dr. Mamdani was a Director of Outcomes Research at Pfizer Global Pharmaceuticals in New York. Dr. Mamdani’s research interests include pharmacoepidemiology, pharmacoeconomics, drug policy, and the application of advanced analytics approaches to clinical problems and health policy decision-making. He has published over 500 research studies in peer-reviewed medical journals, including leading journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, the Lancet, the Journal of the American Medical Association, the British Medical Journal, and Annals of Internal Medicine. His research has been cited over 45,000 times and has an h-index of over 100.

Dr. Mamdani obtained a Doctor of Pharmacy degree (PharmD) from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) in 1995 and subsequently completed a fellowship in pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research at the Detroit Medical Center in 1997. During his fellowship, Dr. Mamdani obtained a Master of Arts degree in Economics from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan with a concentration in econometric theory. He then completed a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University in 1998 with a concentration in quantitative methods, focusing on biostatistics and epidemiological principles.

Helpful Links: 

Unity Health Toronto | Website: Click Here

Data Science and Advanced Analytics at Unity Health Toronto | Website: Click Here

Unity Health Toronto | Social: LinkedIn - Facebook - X (Formerly Twitter)

Dr. Muhammad Mamdani | LinkedIn: Click Here

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