DiabeTEXTs

Mak takes national prize

from: http://thesil.ca/blog/news/mak-takes-national-prize/

By sam colbert

MADIHA KHAN

THE SILHOUETTE

On November 22, Michael Mak, a third- year health sciences student specializing in global health, became the first McMaster University student to win the Agfa eHealth Innovation Challenge. Over 500 students from across the province registered in the month-long competition, which drew talented intellectuals from disciplines as varied as information technology, engineering and the health sciences.

“It was so exciting to be selected as the winner- and really quite unbelievable,” said Mak. “The challenge has been a really educational experience as I had the unique opportunity to work with some of the best minds in business and healthcare.”

Since its conception in the early 1900’s, Agfa HealthCare has provided cutting-edge IT solutions to Hospitals and healthcare facilities for diagnostic image management. The company is also a pioneer in the field of e-health and focuses heavily on innovation.

“New ideas and innovative solutions are the most critical elements to making eHealth a reality across Canada,” said Jeff Nesbitt, Vice President of Government Relations and Strategic Programs, Agfa HealthCare in Canada. “Hundreds of fascinating and thought provoking ideas were presented to the committee and choosing only one winner was the most difficult part of the event”.

The annual Agfa eHealth Innovation Challenge was created to provide Ontario Students with an opportunity to facilitate improvements in quality of patient care, support the continuation and growth of Canada’s Health Informatics industry, and drive the advancement of healthcare IT solutions.

“We focus so much on ensuring that the quality of Canadian health care is high, but health care in First Nations communities is completely off the radar,” said Mak, who is all too familiar with the devastating effects of diabetes in indigenous communities. His current work in the north-western Ontario town of Sioux Lookout with the Keewaytinook Okimakanak, a non-political chiefs council, has shown him that aboriginal patients have inadequate access to health care, partly due to the frustrating lack of internet connectivity.

Mak realized that cell phones were more common than high speed internet in most native communities, so he decided to use this fact to the community’s advantage. By utilizing an SMS text messaging system that allows health care workers to communicate with patients who suffer from diabetes, Mak feels the standard of living for diabetic patients will improve significantly.

“This sort of technology can help connect diabetics with health care professionals who can help them better understand how to treat the disease,” he explained.

Mak’s system, DiabeTEXTs, is currently being piloted in a number of northern Ontario First Nations communities, and there are talks with companies like Research in Motion and Agfa HealthCare to develop the project further.

When asked what advice he would give to other McMaster student’s that wanted to make a difference at the grass-roots level using technology, Mak replied, “one needs to: a) be introduced to the relevant concepts in the classroom; b) be willing to spend time with the community in question in order to more effectively understand the local challenges and current solutions; c) identify the community champions who are willing to spend time with you to make a change; and of course, d) be able to communicate in a culturally competent and respectful manner throughout the entire process.”

Mak went on to express gratitude to McMaster University for providing him opportunities for to work with communities through the fourth-month placement feature of his program.

“I feel very lucky to have come to McMaster straight after high school, and to have met individuals like Professor Hayden King,” he said.