The One Person One Record (OPOR) Program is pleased to welcome Dr. Julie Maranda as interim program Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO). Dr. Maranda will be covering all OPOR-related CMIO duties while Dr. Ashley Miller is on maternity leave. Dr. Matthew Clarke will continue as Associate CMIO for IWK Health and Nova Scotia Health.
Dr. Maranda is a family physician and hospitalist and has provided obstetrics care for most of her career. “I have loved having the privilege to take care of patients from birth to death, and really appreciate the variety that I’ve been able to experience,” says Dr. Maranda. Throughout her career, she has taken on leadership roles and completed an MBA in Digital Transformation. “I felt this was important to equip me for the transformation that healthcare needs to embark upon. With the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing medical leadership needs in our healthcare system, I significantly reduced my clinical work to focus more on systemic change.”
That focus on systemic change has brought her to Nova Scotia and the OPOR Program. “I was drawn to the scope of this project as I believe in the province-wide approach for a clinical information system (CIS) implementation,” she says. “I also feel very strongly about patient-centered design that the One Person One Record vision statement prioritizes.” Dr. Maranda has experience with multiple electronic medical record systems and believes Nova Scotians will be well served by the future OPOR-CIS.
While Dr. Maranda only joined the OPOR team a short while ago, she is quickly getting brought up to speed on the program. “So far, the biggest thing I’ve noted is how nice everyone is,” she says. “I’ve been welcomed onto the team with open arms. It feels like I’m jumping onto a moving train. Fortunately, everyone is open and transparent.”
In her role as CMIO for OPOR, Dr. Maranda will join Lindsay Bertrand, Chief Clinical Information Officer, and Jamey Martell, Senior Director, as Senior Responsibility Owners (SROs) overseeing the program team and the implementation of the OPOR-CIS.
“As I get to know everyone better, I will do my best to advocate for the needs of the Nova Scotia providers, taking care to balance those needs against sometimes competing interests,” she says. “Though everyone has patient safety and patient experience as their number one priority, OPOR also aims to improve clinician experience, improve efficiency, improve quality and health equity, all while remaining fiscally responsible.”
The OPOR-CIS will support physicians, clinicians, and healthcare employees in many ways. Improved software and networks for a safer and sustainable system, with the information and data patients and providers need, streamlining workflows and reducing administrative burdens and delays while adhering to confidentiality and security requirements.
“I am really excited to be part of a team that is passionate about digital transformation,” says Dr. Maranda. “I love innovation and design ideation, but getting this foundation built is key to being able to realize our potential and sustain our healthcare human resources. I am very excited to bring my experience and leadership skills to this very important initiative for Nova Scotia.”
