Dr. Joel Turner appointed Chief of Emergency Medicine
Dr. Marc Afilalo steps down after 38 years as Chief
As he assumes his new role as Chief of Emergency Medicine at the Jewish General Hospital (JGH), Dr. Joel Turner hopes to tap further into the potential of digital technology—and possibly artificial intelligence—to continue improving the delivery of emergency care.
“I feel there are many more ways to maximize the potential of technology,” says Dr. Turner, who is leading the Emergency Department (ED), now that Dr. Marc Afilalo has stepped down after 38 years as Chief.
Dr. Turner says he’s intrigued by the concept of a virtual ED, in which webcams, tablets or even HoloLens technology might be used to connect remotely with certain types of patients in specific circumstances. Not only would these patients be spared having to travel to the hospital, but the number of patients coming to the ED would be reduced.
“I’d also very much like to explore the use of point-of-care (bedside) testing, since I firmly believe this is something that can improve efficiency, enhance care and expedite discharges,” he says.
Especially noteworthy, he says, is the Connected Health Record, which is currently being developed by CIUSSS West-Central Montreal. When completed, this digital platform will improve the speed and quality of care by enabling staff (in the ED and elsewhere) to consult a single user-friendly platform to gain prompt access to updated health information about any healthcare user served by the CIUSSS.
While the use of artificial intelligence in emergency medicine has not yet become mainstream, Dr. Turner calls it “a truly innovative field.” He says he is confident that at the outset, AI may be helpful in allowing doctors to more quickly identify which patients are most likely to need admission, and which can be more safely discharged, thereby significantly decreasing the patient’s length of stay in the hospital.
Dr. Marc Afilalo reflects on his career as Chief of Emergency Medicine
In this article in JGH News, Dr. Marc Afilalo looks back at the some of the highlights and major changes he has seen in his 43 years at the JGH, including 38 years as Chief of Emergency Medicine.
These tools are becoming increasingly important, Dr. Turner explains, because the ED at the JGH—and in hospitals across Quebec and Canada—are facing mounting pressures in coping with the steadily rising volume of patients.
Significant ED overcrowding has resulted from a variety of factors, including a chronic shortage of hospital beds, the declining number of family doctors, and the rising proportion of elderly patients, whose emergency care can often be relatively complex and time-consuming.
Dr. Turner notes that when the current ED opened in Pavilion K in 2014, its design was based on the assumption that it would handle about 70,000 visits a year. That number has now surpassed 92,000.
To some extent, he explains, this has occurred because more than half of the patients who arrive in the ED live in Laval, the south shore, the east end and other areas not officially served by the JGH or CIUSSS West-Central Montreal.
Despite these considerable, system-wide difficulties, Dr. Turner is eager to guide the JGH’s ED into the next phase of its evolution. “I feel the time is right for me to take on this role, and to implement several ideas that I am confident will improve the well-being of the healthcare workers in the ED and the ED’s overall efficiency.”
After earning his M.D. from McGill University in 1997, Dr. Turner completed a residency in the FRCP emergency medicine program at McGill in 2003. Since 2019, he has been an Assistant Professor at McGill University, and served as the Fellowship Director of the Emergency Medicine Ultrasound Fellowship Program from 2013 until earlier this year. In 2020, he was named the inaugural Associate Chair (Clinical) of the Department of Emergency Medicine at McGill.
Dr. Turner has been honoured as an educator, particularly for his many years teaching doctors and medical residents to use point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS). It has revolutionized the diagnostic capabilities of the physician at the bedside, providing potentially life-saving answers to focused clinical questions.
In 2019, Dr. Turner was named Educator of the Year by the Canadian Point of Care Ultrasound Society. In 2013, he was also named as an Apple Distinguished Educator for developing an online mobile platform for the education of residents in emergency medicine.
“Working in our Emergency Department isn’t easy,” Dr. Turner concludes, “but it’s gratifying to know how highly our patients think of us. Success brings its own unique challenges, since we tend to attract such high volumes of patients. But I appreciate that we’re known for doing such a good job.”
Related Posts
