Dorian Lo, Craig Worden, Margaret Wente
December 6, 2013 - Manulife Healthcare Policy Roundtable Series Feature Event - What Matters to Canadians: How Public Perceptions Influence Policy Choices
For our final Healthcare Policy Roundtable of the year, the Institute was pleased to host Dorian Lo, Craig Worden and Margaret Wente, who discussed what influence public perception has on political decisions. The way in which Canadians view the flaws and successes of provincial healthcare systems has a profound impact on policy choices. How do Canadians see our healthcare systems? What matters to them the most?
Dr. Dorian Lo is the Executive Vice President, Pharmacy and Healthcare at Shoppers Drug Mart. Shoppers Drug Mart has more than 1,295 pharmacy locations across the country with 1,120 Associate owners who care for millions of patients and dispense over 100 million prescriptions per year. Dorian also oversees Specialty Health Network, MediSystem long-term care pharmacy and Shoppers Drug Mart Health Solutions, which provides enhanced Pharmacy Services and Benefits to private payors and their plan members.
Prior to joining Shoppers Drug Mart, Dorian was with Medco, a leading Pharmacy Benefits Management company in the US. Beginning in 1999, Dorian held roles of increasing responsibility leading to his role of Chief Medical Officer for Health Plans. In this role, Dorian managed nationwide clinical services for Medco’s health plan clients representing over $25B US in drug spend, including over $2B in specialty. This involved leading a team of 40 managed care pharmacists to provide clinical advice and implement formulary decisions, specialty pharmacy, prior authorization, disease management and other clinical programs. His team focused on identifying opportunities and making recommendations for improving care and controlling costs for patients and clients, as well as developing new sales opportunities. At Medco, Dorian developed a number of products and service including electronic prescribing, Consumer Driven Health Benefits and their Medicare Discount Card.
Dorian also previously worked for McKinsey & Co, as a Toronto-based engagement manager working with large global pharmaceutical companies and healthcare organizations across North America. Dorian holds an MBA from Wharton and a MD from the University of Western Ontario. He previously practiced as an Emergency Physician in Toronto as well as a volunteer doctor with a charitable organization working in rural Nigeria. He has been a board member for a local hospital foundation and the State Society of Aging of New York.
Craig Worden leads Pollara’s public affairs research practice. He provides actionable, insightful counsel to our clients, applying expertise gained over 15 years of conducting quantitative and qualitative research for an extensive array of private, public and not-for-profit sector clients. Since joining Pollara in 2008, he has built an industry-leading team committed to creative, customized research solutions that provide clarity of understanding and direction to our clients.
As a public affairs researcher, Craig has helmed hundreds of surveys and moderated more than a thousand focus groups. In the health sphere, he has conducted research studies among the general population, patients, and health care professionals for federal and provincial health ministries and agencies, numerous associations, more than 25 hospitals, the National Primary Health Care Awareness Strategy Taskforce, and Pollara’s annual Health Care In Canada study.
Craig’s research career began at Angus Reid Group/Ipsos-Reid, where he rose to the position of Associate Vice President. Prior to joining Pollara, he managed public affairs practices at Leger and Angus Reid Public Opinion/Vision Critical. He has provided commentary in print and broadcast media on hundreds of occasions, and authored columns on research techniques and societal trends for such publications as Toronto Life Magazine and the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association’s Vue periodical. Craig holds a BA Honours in political science from Carleton University, and a MA in political science from Brock University.
Margaret Wente is one of Canada’s leading columnists. As a writer for The Globe and Mail, she provokes heated debate with her views on health care, education, and social issues. She is winner of the National Newspaper Award for column-writing.
Ms. Wente has had a diverse career in Canadian journalism as both a writer and an editor. She has edited two leading business magazines, Canadian Business and ROB Magazine. She has also been editor of the Globe’s business section, the ROB, and managing editor of the paper. Her columns have appeared in the Globe since 1992. She now writes full-time for the paper, and she is a frequent commentator on television and radio.
Ms. Wente was born in Chicago and moved to Toronto with her family when she was in her teens. She has won numerous journalism awards. She holds a BA from the University of Michigan, and an MA in English from the University of Toronto. She is married to Ian McLeod, a television producer.
Thank you to Manulife Financial for sponsorship of the Healthcare Roundtable Series.
to