Daniel Z. Sands, MD, MPH
Senior Medical Informatics Director, Cisco
Director, Internet Business Solutions Group, Healthcare Practice

New Platforms and New Business Models
for Care-at-a-Distance

Danny Sands is senior medical informatics director for Cisco, where he provides both internal and external health IT leadership and helps key customers with business and clinical transformation using IT. His prior position was chief medical officer for Zix Corporation, a leader in secure e-mail and e-prescribing, and before that he spent 13 years at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, where he developed and implemented numerous systems to improve clinical care delivery and patient engagement.

He has earned degrees from Brown University, Ohio State University, Harvard School of Public Health, and trained at Boston City Hospital and Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital. Dr. Sands currently holds an academic appointment at Harvard Medical School and maintains a primary care practice in which he makes extensive use of health IT.

Sands is the recipient of numerous health IT awards, has been elected to fellowship in both the American College of Physicians and the American College of Medical Informatics, and is a founder and board member of the Society for Participatory Medicine. In 2009 he was recognized by HealthLeaders Magazine as one of “20 People Who Make Healthcare Better.”

Stephen Strauss
Science Writer and Columnist

A Journalist Trying To Explain to Ordinary People
What They Fundamentally Don't Understand
About Electronic Health Records:
Why They Aren't Here Already for Care-at-a-Distance

Stephen Strauss is one of Canada’s premier science writers and columnists with over 29 years dedicated to his field. He has served as Editor of the Montreal Star, feature writer, science writer, columnist and editorial writer for The Globe and Mail, science columnist for CBC.ca and has freelanced several pieces such as for Air Canada’s EnRoute Magazine, The Globe and Mail, The Times Higher Education Supplement, The New Scientist, the Canadian Medical Association Journal, The Canadian Institute of Advanced Research, the Toronto Star, Reader’s Digest and Nature Biotechnology. Strauss was Honorary Fellow at Bethune College, York University and was a contributing writer to MIT’s Technology Review Magazine.

He has also authored three books, several book chapters, and for his efforts received numerous awards. In 2009, he was one of 11 Canadian journalists to receive a tier-1 award in the first-ever Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Journalism Awards competition. Other notable contributions include: Board of Directors Canadian Science Writers Association, Advisor to OEC panel on chemicals in the environment, Health Canada Advisory Panel for the Chief Scientist, Board of Director for CANSTATS, Board of Directors, Scientists in Schools, Expert Panel, Choosing New Entrants into the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame, Writer in Residence, Arts and Science Program, McMaster University.

J. Wayne Gudbranson is President & CEO of Branham Group Inc. (www.branhamgroup.com), an independent global industry analyst and strategic marketing consulting firm focused on assisting Information and Communications Technology (ICT) companies achieve market success. Since establishing the firm in 1990, Wayne has positioned Branham as a leading provider of custom consulting services, assisting ICT companies in areas of planning, marketing and partnering. In 2004, Wayne expanded Branham’s business by creating the multi-client subscription and data products divisions. The multi-client subscription division provides timely industry analysis, including monthly reports, detailed bi-monthly reports and telephone inquiry services in areas of eHealth, Outsourcing, Wireline & Wireless Convergence and Green IT sectors.

When not assisting clients achieve market success, Wayne actively promotes Canada’s ICT industry capabilities on a global basis. Fifteen years ago, he launched an ambitious initiative to raise the visibility of Canadian ICT sector with the Branham300 listing. Today, the Branham300 is the most comprehensive database of privately held and publicly traded ICT companies ranked on total revenues (www.branham300.com) in Canada. In 2008, Branham also launched another significant initiative to build Canada’s brand in the global outsourcing market. The Directory of Outsourcing Companies and Capabilities in Canada is a key source of companies in Canada with outsourcing capabilities (www.branhamoutsourcing.com). The Branham300 and Outsourcing Directory are key components of Branham’s Data Products division.

Wayne is frequent speaker on issues related to the ICT sector at key industry events around the world. He is a regular technology analyst for CTV and its affiliate stations. He also sits on numerous boards and committees such as ISTP Canada and ITAC Health, the eHealth division of the Information Technology Association of Canada. Wayne has an Honours B.A. from the University of Guelph and a Master of Arts from the University of Western Ontario. He resides in Ottawa with his wife and four children.