#OneEastToronto shares the faces of East Toronto Health Partners (ETHP), a group of more than 50 community, primary care, home care, hospital and social services organizations in East Toronto working together to improve the way local residents access and receive care. Meet Cynthia Wong, project lead at ETHP.
“I studied psychology as an undergraduate student and originally wanted to pursue a career in clinical psychology. I had some mentors steer me toward my Master of Business Administration instead, where I specialized in health industry management. That’s where my interest in digital health was really piqued. I realized there are many opportunities to improve the health of our communities through digital solutions.
In an ideal world, I see individuals being able to access health and social services in a similar way to how online banking operates. It’d be great if people could go online and easily find and access the different care services they need in one place. That’s what a lot of my role with ETHP encompasses. I work with other digital health leaders across our partnership to identify opportunities where we can improve how people access care virtually.
Digital health has become even more important during the COVID-19 pandemic when many services are now being offered online. By increasing and approving access to virtual care, we can have a more efficient flow of information, reduce issues such as duplicate testing and make communication easier between clients and providers. Digital equity — ensuring people have the tools and knowledge to access virtual care — is also important. This helps ensure how healthcare system is accessible by everyone.
Working as a partnership is key to achieving these goals. It’s important that health and social services providers work together, rather than in isolation from one another. This helps us identify common issues that different providers may be experiencing so we can find solutions together. It also allows us to learn from our strengths and use one another as a sounding board for new ideas.
For me, there are few things more rewarding than seeing a digital health project from inception to execution. It’s so exciting knowing that what we’re doing has the potential to improve the health of people across East Toronto. I look forward to continuing this collaborative work and seeing where the possibilities of digital can take us.”
Are you a member of East Toronto Health Partners (ETHP) who is interested in being featuring in our #OneEastToronto series or know someone who would be a great fit? Please email Lucy Lau, corporate communications coordinator at ETHP, at lucy.lau@tehn.ca.