April 2023

A Message from:
Lyn Baluyot, CEO
Change is necessary in life and similarly in business to keep us moving and growing. At TransForm, we have started the process of moving forward to continue growing our place in the health system with our refreshed vision, mission, values and tagline. 

Our leadership team was challenged to look ahead to TransForm’s future to develop an impactful plan to 2027 and beyond. In response to that challenge, the team shaped a vision that better reflects our strategy and positioning, while the mission represents our role and scope within the healthcare system, as well as the services provided to our partners and members. Our values highlight our dedication to fostering and maintaining integrity and equity not only within our organization but also amongst our partners, members and the community we serve. All of this is summed up perfectly in our new tag line - Better Solutions, Better Care – that definitively captures what TransForm will work towards enhancing and implementing in the health system.

TransForm’s recently announced reorganization is our first step towards fostering our growth, in line with our mission. Our innovative approach will effectively respond to the needs of our growth strategy by emphasizing diverse skillsets in the workplace, encouraging new ways of thinking and preparing us and our stakeholders for a rapidly evolving health system with vast opportunities for more efficiency. The impact of our reorganization and growth strategy will be directly reflected on our stakeholders and partners in terms of increased efficiency, enhanced services and improved outcomes. 

We continued this process with the recent hiring of our Director of Digital Health Strategy, Silas Ng, who with his wealth of experience in digital health in Ontario, has hit the ground running to develop and execute our digital health strategy to provide tools and resources for our health service providers to enhance patient care - not only to our hospital partners, but also with five OHTs within Southwest Ontario. This unique partnership with the OHTs in our region have garnered interest from Ontario Health in better understanding how TransForm was able to collaborate with the OHTs to provide more efficient and collaborative digital health leadership in support of the digital health strategy of the region and the province.

And this is just one of several changes coming to TransForm as we continue to push the limits of what we can do to help bring better solutions and better care to our region and the province. With the announcement of TransForm as the single Health Information Network Provider (HINP) in the province, the Integrated Assessment Record (IAR) team is busy planning the implementation of that project.

I am incredibly proud of the thoughtful and collaborative work of the leadership team, and the board’s support in creating an energized mission, vision and values that will help drive our organization forward in the healthcare system.

Lyn

Refreshed:
Mission, Vision & Values
Mission

As a strategic solutions centre committed to exceptional service delivery, TransForm leads, innovates and supports health system transformation.



Vision

Transform and innovate the healthcare system through
strategic partnerships as a leader in service excellence.


Values

Collaboration.
Accountability.
Integrity.
Equity.


Tagline

Better Solutions. Better Care.

Announcement:
Director of Digital Health Strategy
On behalf of the five Ontario Health Teams (Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent, Sarnia-Lambton, Middlesex-London and Elgin), along with TransForm Shared Service Organization, we are thrilled to announce a remarkably collaborative and innovative partnership that will drive the digital health strategy forward across our OHTs in Southwest Ontario. 

A newly created role of Director, Digital Health Strategy will be shared in order to provide leadership in digital healthto the communities served by these partners. The role will ensure that Ontario’s provincial road map for digital health is optimized for the local health delivery needs and transformation of health services underway through the evolving OHT model. The intent is that this role will develop a prioritized and sustainable local digital health roadmap that aligns with the strategic priorities of the OHTs, are supported by the provincial digital health strategy, while addressing the specific OHT digital health priorities.

After performing a provincial-wide search, the partners have recruited Silas Ng who will commence this important role on February 27, 2023. Silas brings a wealth of experience in digital health within Ontario, which includes leading a team at the Ministry of Health to develop and implement the province’s digital health strategy, including policies, and investments to support the sector in its procurement and use of clinical systems, oversight of the provincial eService strategy to digitize and standardize inter-organizational clinical workflows, and development of a cyber-security strategy to support health service providers in their cyber readiness and minimize the impact of cyber-attacks. He has also led clinician-facing projects at an acute care institution from inception to operations to better enable seamless communication and access to patient records.

Please join us in welcoming Silas as he develops and executes our digital health strategy to provide tools and resources for our health service providers to enhance patient care.
Integrated Assessment Record (IAR) with Cynthia Lane
Improving the quality of care for mental health patients is an important initiative in the region and across the province, and making sure the system has the tools it needs to do the job effectively is a key piece of the solution. At TransForm, the team working in the Integrated Assessment Record (IAR) department has the responsibility for this role in the region and recently had exciting news to share about its upgraded role in the province. Cynthia Lane, Senior Manager IAR and IS Account Manager took the time recently to explain the service her department provides.

Q. What is the official name of your department, what do you do and who are your customers?

A. The portfolio name is IAR (Integrated Assessment Record). This program is externally funded by Ontario Health and services the mental health sector across a number of health service providers in the province. The IAR tool provides a central repository for clinical assessment data collected from multiple care sectors. It allows authorized Health Service Providers (HSPs) within the circle of care to upload and view a client’s assessment information in a secure and timely manner. We also provide data for analytics for a number of external agencies.

Q. How many people work in the department?

A. There are approximately seven individuals with responsibilities in the IAR portfolio.

Q. Can you describe a typical day in the life of your department?

A. Currently, we are in the midst of a large application and database suite upgrade, and are beginning the onboarding process that will see TransForm assume the sole responsibility as the only IAR Health Information Network Provider (HINP) for the entire province of Ontario. In addition, we have daily activities that include service tickets from Ontario Health, maintenance of the software and hardware environments, and transitioning to a more group-oriented approach to the operations of IAR. Knowledge sharing and training is an ongoing effort. 
 
Q. How does the work of the department impact our health system?

A. The IAR portfolio and its support for the Integrated Assessment Record provides support for patient care across the care spectrum related to mental health; from hospitals to community agencies and beyond, enabling collaborative care planning and enhanced communication between HSPs resulting in high quality care for patients.
 
Q. Are there any challenges?

A. The portfolio is evolving and we look to this growth as opportunities, not challenges. Skill development and team building is critically important. Effective time management and planning resource usage is critical.
 
Q. What are some exciting initiatives or steps for enhancement the department is considering or currently implementing?

A. TransForm was successful in its bid to become the single HINP for the IAR in the province. This new consolidated structure includes an onboarding of the two existing HINP’s as we transition to become the single provider for these services.

Q. What do you love about your job?
 
A. We are very proud of the work the TransForm team has completed within the IAR portfolio. We have earned the respect of Ontario Health for our proven track record and as such, made TransForm the logical choice to become the sole HINP for the province for the IAR portfolio. The recognition of our hard work provides motivation to accomplish even more, both for IAR and as part of the TransForm organization.

Announcement:
TransForm joins the Canadian Hub for Health Intelligence and Innovation in Infectious Diseases - HI3
TransForm Shared Service Organization is proud to be one of more than 80 partners in the University of Toronto’s new hub known as the Canadian Hub for Health Intelligence and Innovation in Infectious Diseases (HI3). Formed as a partnership between the University of Toronto, the Government of Canada and other partners, this hub is set to become a centre for pandemic preparedness and biomanufacturing in Canada. The multi-sector coalition will serve as a catalyst for researchers to develop and produce vaccines as well as other therapeutics for infectious diseases. The network of industry-leading partners is expected to strengthen Canada’s ability to respond to future pandemics and public health emergencies.  

Featured:
Evolving hospice care in Ontario
Our e-VOLVE program is transforming end-of-life care across Ontario. Through our collaboration with Oracle Health, we rolled out the instance of Cerner Millennium, enabling a streamlined and effective service for patients and health providers in hospitals and hospices.

To learn more about the impact of Cerner Millennium and our collaboration with Oracle Health, check out the full feature story.
Ryan Yau
Senior Applications Analyst on the Applications, Integration and Development (AID) Team
Advances in technology are a huge part of emerging digital health care, helping clinicians do their job more effectively and efficiently while improving patient outcomes. At TransForm, the Applications, Integration and Development (AID) team work each day to ensure our hospitals have the latest tools in digital medicine to improve care for patients.
 
One member of the AID team, Senior Applications Analyst Ryan Yau, has been working at TransForm since 2010, and he talked with us recently about his role and the important outcomes the AID team is working on.
 
He joined TransForm as a support analyst for Windsor Regional Hospital (WRH) and later transitioned to an Application Analyst and moved to Diagnostic Imaging (DI). Previously, he worked in IT for over 10 years in the automotive and private sectors. 
 
In a typical day, Ryan said he and his team work on supporting numerous systems used by hospital clinicians.
 
“I manage the DI functional area support for our member hospitals. Our team supports multiple systems, including Cerner Radnet, Change Healthcare/AGFA PACS, PowerScribe 360 Dictation, GE Muse Electrocardiogram (EKG), Change Healthcare Cardiovascular Information System (CVIS), Natus Electroencephalography (EEG) and Certus for pulmonary function testing (PFT). Working on regional change requests, application support, investigations, project meetings and super users or department manager’s inquiries are just a normal part of my day,” Ryan noted. 
 
Describing one of the systems as an example, he said PowerScribe 360 is a regional DI application used by all the member hospitals. It is a speech recognition application radiologists use to create reports for DI orders, saving time and effort in getting reports back to physicians.  
 
With any technology comes the support needed to answer questions, troubleshoot any issues and ensure the system is running smoothly. For Ryan, that means some days can get very busy, but he has a system that works for him.
 
“Managing the day-to-day support is challenging but is often just as rewarding knowing that patient safety is a top priority,” he said. “You have to organize and prioritize your week in order to stay on top of demand. Scheduling time has worked well for me in order to complete tight project timelines, manage tickets and task deadlines.” 
 
The rewards of the job are something Ryan has come to love about his work at TransForm, especially working with his colleagues and customers. 
 
“My favourite aspect of my current job is the people I work with and that every day presents me with new and different challenges. I really enjoy interacting with the different customers and knowing I am having a positive impact on patient care,” Ryan explained. “I particularly enjoy working in a team environment and learn a lot by collaborating with others.”

To ensure he keeps a good work/life balance, Ryan enjoys spending time with his family, which often includes traveling. He recently went on a family trip on the Disney Wish cruise ship and snapped a photo of him and his son outside of the Worlds of Marvel restaurant with matching Captain America shirts.

Latest in Cyber Security
Understanding TikTok Bans

On March 16, 2023, TransForm banned the use of TikTok on all corporate devices and platforms. If you use TikTok personally, here is what you should know:

TikTok is a National Security Concern - TikTok is being banned out of national security concerns. The Ministry supports this conclusion and are advising public sector, critical infrastructure, and any privacy-conscious organizations take TikTok’s practices seriously.

TikTok May Share Data - ByteDance, is TikTok’s parent company, they are based in China and is required to cooperate with Beijing should it be asked to do so.

TikTok is a Data Grabber - TikTok uses aggressive and invasive data collecting techniques. The app makes close to $9 billion dollars in advertising revenue in the USA alone! Advertisers can choose their targets using psychographic micro targeting. The app collects network information, hourly location, unrecorded videos, keystroke cadence, and an inventory of your device’s configuration and applications. Over 28,000 apps outside of TikTok contribute to their trove. TikTok gave itself these rights in its 2021 amendments to its privacy policy.

Limit TikTok Access to your device

If you still use TikTok on personal devices, be careful. Here’s four immediate steps to take: 

1. Don’t share your location. 
Deny location sharing in your phone settings, and in the app.
Open TikTok and tap Profile at the bottom.
Tap the Menu button at the top.
Tap Settings and privacy.
Tap Privacy, then tap Location Services.
Choose a location access permission for TikTok.

2. Reduce your social network exposure.
 Don’t sync your contacts or Facebook friends.

3. Reduce your exposure to advertising. 
Turn off in-app ad targeting.
Open TikTok and tap Profile in the bottom right corner.
Tap the three-line icon in the top right corner and choose Settings and privacy.
Tap Privacy => Ads personalization.
By default, toggle Use of Off-TikTok activity for ad targeting should be turned off.

4. Limit data sharing. 
Don’t use social login, set up your account with e-mail credentials.

5. Use TikTok on the Web.
Uninstall the app, and don’t sign in.
Beware of "Vishing" Calls:
Impersonate Loved Ones in Distress

In March 2023, the US Federal Trade Commission issued a consumer alert warning of an uptick in AI-enhanced voice phishing (vishing) calls impersonating loved ones in distress. The calls use AI systems to create passable clones of a specific individual using publicly available audio.

In the calls, the impersonated individual asks for financial assistance, often in the form of a wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or in specific gift cards.

"Very efficient service!"

"The request was completed very quickly."

"Always prompt!"

"Very impressed with the speed of response and service in fixing the issue."

"Quick and efficient."


Sometimes, employees go the extra mile and deliver a wow!

To help recognize these instances, TransForm introduced the Going the Extra Mile recognition program for TransForm employees.

Hospital members, TransForm employees and other customers can submit an online nomination based on the criteria below to recognize employees who have “gone the extra mile” in providing services.