Chief Medical Information Officer & Staff Gastroenterologist
University Health Network
Professor of Medicine
University of Toronto
Toronto, ON

As a practicing gastroenterologist and Chief Medical Information Officer, Peter’s priorities include strategic alignment of clinical systems to improve outcomes related to patient safety, quality improvement, education, and research. His work has been recognized internationally for innovation and leadership in point of care clinical systems, provincial electronic health records, virtual care, and national reporting standards.

His accomplishments include design and development of front-end clinical systems including the first publication of a low cost endoscopic image management system based on the DICOM standard (1997), clinical leadership in one of the first large Computerized Provider Order Entry initiatives, UHN medication management (MOE/MAR) (2004-2006) and large regional systems including Patient Results Online (PRO) and Connecting GTA (cGTA). As Clinical Co-Lead for cGTA (2010–2016) he ensured launch of electronic health records for 6.75M people, an important foundational platform in Ontario healthcare. More recently he served as CMIO for Epic go live implementation at the University Health Network in June 2022. Despite pandemic related challenges the implementation was successful achieving 9 out of 10 Epic Gold Stars compared to average customer implementations at level 6.

Peter initiated the UHN Telehealth Program in July 2003 establishing national and international recognition for interprovincial telehealth, pioneering portable telehealth workstations, complex telehomecare and innovative approaches to clinical case conferences and educational rounds. Over the course of the pandemic, this experience and leadership contributed to expansion of virtual care at UHN including Guiding Principles and pivoting to provide 40-60% of outpatient volumes virtually to support safe access and continuity of care. In addition, he has contributed to training, evaluation, and standards of practice through leadership roles with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, Cancer Care Ontario, and Canadian Association of Gastroenterology.

His work has been recognized through numerous awards including the individual 2020 University of Toronto Department of Medicine Award in Quality & Innovation and team awards Epic Good Install award (2023), 2018 PMI Award for Project Excellence – North America Region Winner, The 2017 Business Transformation & Operational Excellence Awards – Best Achievement of Operational Excellence in Healthcare, 3M Health Care Quality Team Award – Quality Improvement Initiative(s) Within an Organization, 2016 LEADing Practice Award.

Current priorities include clinical leadership of digital transformation at the University Health Network (UHN), addressing gaps between clinical best practice, quality, and information technology with a focus on the patient and interprofessional provider experience. He is committed to advancing knowledge, continuing to wisely incorporate new technologies including artificial intelligence while training and mentoring next generations of leaders.