Doug Ma

Doug is a Senior Program Manager at TELUS Health, leading an initiative to digitally enable team-based primary care networks in British Columbia. Within TELUS Health, he has also developed and deployed health IT solutions nationally, such as pharmacy management systems, pharmacy patient portals, and home health monitoring. Doug has been a pharmacist for 13 years, holding a pharmacy degree from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the University of British Columbia. Prior to his career transition into the IT industry, Doug was a community pharmacist in Vancouver and Toronto. He owned and operated a Pharmasave in downtown Vancouver and was previously the regional operations manager at Pure Integrative Pharmacy.

1. What’s your journey post pharmacy school and how did you get to where you are?

"After completing my pharmacy studies at the University of Toronto, I started working as a staff and relief pharmacist primarily at independent pharmacies. WIth a goal of opening my own pharmacy, I sought out experience at locally-owned pharmacies to learn first hand from independent pharmacy owners. Three years later, I moved to BC filling in for a maternity leave pharmacy manager position at a Pharmasave in the lower mainland. The owner mentored me in the business and operations of pharmacy. It was a steep learning curve, but I gained an immense amount of experience in a short period of time. After a year, I opened a new Pharmasave location in downtown Vancouver, partnering with another pharmacist. After two years, my business partner had grown his pharmacy practice to include another 13 locations in the Lower Mainland and Victoria. Along with the other pharmacy owners, we decided to start our own company, Pure Integrative Pharmacy in 2011. With the launch, I was appointed the regional pharmacy manager for eight locations in the Lower Mainland and was responsible for pharmacy operations, including staffing, training, managing relationships with wholesalers and drug companies. My role also involved business development with physicians located near our pharmacies.

A few years later, I made the decision to return to school after 8 years of community pharmacy, and completed the MBA program at UBC in 2015. Upon graduating, I applied for a role at Telus Health. TELUS was looking to onboard a pharmacist as a Product Manager, overseeing software development of a new pharmacy management system. The job required experience using various pharmacy management systems (e.g. Healthwatch, Kroll, PharmaClik), and an understanding of the pharmacy-user needs. While I did not directly have the IT experience, my breadth of experience practicing pharmacy in two different provinces was an asset to TELUS, who had an objective to bring the product to the rest of Canada. I was successful in obtaining the exciting role where I was responsible for planning the roadmap for the features and functionality for the pharmacy software based on legislative requirements, user needs, and market readiness. After 2 years, I transitioned into the physician software team, where I currently lead an initiative called “Innovation Hub”. Knowing that health care encompasses more than pharmacy, I am exploring how physician electronic medical records (EMRs) can integrate with acute care and community care systems, in addition to patient-facing technologies. I am excited to be working in a role that sees the big picture healthcare needs and is working to find solutions where technology can improve how care is delivered."

2. What motivated you to pursue your specific area of practice?

"I have always enjoyed working with computers. While working in the pharmacy, I was interested in using the pharmacy management software to its full capabilities. If I saw a colleague perform certain functions on the system, I would ask and learn. I have an innate curiosity to learn about how technology can help improve efficiency in managing the pharmacy. For example, while using the Kroll software during relief shifts and working at different locations, I met pharmacists and technicians who were highly proficient at using the perpetual inventory management features. I took every opportunity to learn from them. Pharmacists typically do not receive in-depth training on advanced functions. It is up to you to take initiative to learn. My current role is a great fit as it brings together the best of pharmacy, business and IT. "

3. What does your day to day job look like?

"As Senior Program Manager for the Innovation Hub, I lead a team to develop and implement software for physicians on top of their standard electronic medical records (EMR). The BC Ministry of Health is funding TELUS Health to develop and implement several cutting edge solutions to 12 clinics to support their pilot of primary care networks in BC. We work with clinics, physicians and allied health workers (e.g. nurses, social workers, medical office assistants) to identify their technology needs to help them improve health outcomes in their communities, increase efficiencies, reduce costs, and increase access to care for patients. My team ensures all of our stakeholders are fully engaged (e.g. Ministry of Health, Doctors of BC, Health Authorities, Divisions of Family Practice, Clinicians and Clinic staff) to ensure the program is successful.

My day to day involves a lot of meetings with the stakeholders, clients, end users, internal Telus teams, and my direct team. My role includes coaching and managing my team so they are able to complete tasks and activities that will ensure the program is run effectively. Other typical tasks involve budgeting, contracting, and reporting to internal and external governance groups. The work is exciting, complex, fast-paced and has a lot of unknowns to solve."

4. What do you find challenging/rewarding about your field?

Rewarding:

• "Making large scale impact on our healthcare system: It is gratifying knowing that your work can impact thousands, potentially millions of Canadians who could be using technology you contributed to bring to market. For example, our team recently launched MyHealth Records in Alberta, a solution allowing Albertans to access their up-to-date personal health information through their phones and computers. This transformative solution took years of planning, but we are now live. The number of people that signed up was remarkable. You hear from patients who have been craving to access their own personal health information (immunizations, medications, labs, etc.) and it’s finally available. It is always exciting to hear people’s reaction when I tell them they can actually access their personal health data just like online banking."

Challenging:

• "The nature of my job has many unknowns. When I was presented with the innovation hub program, we were tasked to seek input, develop and implement new technology, but that was the extent of the direction provided. The details of how to get there took lots of brainstorming, consultation, and planning. Another challenge is the large amount of stakeholder engagement required; of great importance when working on large scale projects. There are so many stakeholders that you need to ensure are in the loop. If someone was not informed about an activity about to occur, and is opposed to a decision previously made, it could lead to a significant setback by delaying the schedule or impacting the budget. Different stakeholders need to know the right amount of information at the right time. For example, a physician might need to know details of the software being developed, but health authority executives may only require a high-level summary of the development progress. It is important to think ahead and know what is important to different stakeholders."

5. What advice would you offer students who are interested in pursuing a job in the field you currently work in? What advice would you offer students interested in eHealth?

• "To get more exposure in eHealth, there are a few organizations that frequently host conferences and symposiums.

1. eHealth Canada - This is where everyone working in eHealth in Canada gets together at their annual conference in Vancouver over three days in the spring. There are a lot of great speakers, presentations, and tons of information you can learn. You will also find most of the major technology vendors at the trade show. As a bonus, there is a great student discount.

2. Digital Health Canada - They put on weekly webinars, workshops throughout the year. There is a BC chapter that holds symposiums a few times a year.

• Formal Training in eHealth (e.g. taking courses in health informatics, completing a Masters degree in health information/informatics): If you are a type of person who enjoys learning, formal graduate studies may fit your goals and career stage. There are complementary graduate programs to a pharmacy degree that can elevate your career. When it comes to a health IT degree, the Master of Health Informatics degree can be very useful. There are a several excellent schools in Canada (e.g. University of Victoria, University of Toronto, McMaster University). Other graduate degrees include Master of Business Administration, Master of Health Administration and Master of Public Health.

• Another piece of advice to learn more about a job or a field: A simple question that I find very effective is when you’re already engaging someone in a coffee chat/networking event/informational interview, you can ask near the end, "Is there anyone else you think I should talk to?” People are often shy to ask this question. If you think about it, it’s a very simple question – doesn’t hurt to ask. Every time someone has asked me that question in the past, I have been happy to introduce someone I know. It enables you the opportunity to expand your network, talk to someone who works in an area you probably aren’t aware of. It is about accumulating knowledge that will help you make the best informed decision about your career. This simple question has opened many doors for me."