About FirstHx

Discover our journey to revolutionize healthcare delivery.

At FirstHx, our mission is to redefine the landscape of digital health.

We believe that efficient and accurate patient data collection is the cornerstone of modern, person-centered healthcare.

With this vision in mind, we are committed to revolutionizing the way healthcare providers gather and utilize patient information.

That’s why we’re committed to advancing history technology.

Our cutting-edge technology empowers healthcare professionals to streamline the intake process, enhancing accuracy, and saving valuable time.

By offering intuitive interfaces and knowledge-based algorithms, we enable clinicians to focus on what truly matters – delivering exceptional care.

Uniting Healthcare Professionals For Impactful Solutions

Our Team

At the core of our success lies a team entirely composed of healthcare professionals – from accomplished doctors and skilled nurses to seasoned health specialists. We intimately understand the challenges and intricacies of healthcare settings because we’ve lived them firsthand. We’ve walked the halls of hospitals, cared for patients, and collaborated with multidisciplinary teams.

This unique perspective allows us to develop solutions that resonate with the real needs of healthcare providers, ensuring that our technologies are not only innovative but also practical and effective in clinical environments.

Our team includes business leaders, operations specialists, developers, product builders, research analytics, clinical leads and more. Together, we’re not just revolutionizing technology; we’re transforming the healthcare experience for the better.

Leadership

Dr. Chris O'Connor
CEO

Dr. Chris O’Connor

Board Chairman and Co-Founder

Dr. Mark Benaroia

SVP Strategy & Partnerships

Beth Gerritsen, RN(EC)

CTO

Lachlan Holmes

Chief Nursing Officer

Kate Groff

Kirsten Lewis
COO

Kirsten Lewis

Dr. Asif Ali
Managing Director of the United States

Dr. Asif Ali

Chief Product Officer

Dr. James East

CMO and Co-Founder

Dr. Roman Elinson

Managing Director MEA

Jacqueline Duvoisin

Dr. Blake Hampton
Executive Director of Ophthalmology

Dr. Blake Hampton

Executive Director of Dermatology

Dr. Stephen Lewellis

Executive Medical Advisor

Dr. Prashant Phalpher

CEO

Dr. Chris O’Connor

Critical Care Physician | Former Director of Medical Informatics, Trillium Health Partners (THP) | Founder and Former President, Think Research 

In his role as CEO, Chris brings a wealth of experience, both as a doctor and as a healthcare entrepreneur. He has been instrumental in bringing FirstHx to market, both in virtual and in-person settings. Under Chris’ leadership FirstHx has achieved a 95% patient satisfaction rating and expanding FirstHx’s global reach.

Board Chairman and Co-Founder

Dr. Mark Benaroia

Physician Co-founder, Ontario Renal Network | Former Chair of Nephrology, Ontario Medical Association | Former President, Ontario Association of Nephrologists | Director of Home Hemodialysis and Staff Nephrologist, Grand River Hospital | Adjunct Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, McMaster University 

Mark co-founded FirstHx in 2015, bringing a rich background in system design and leadership. With roles like Physician Co-founder at Ontario Renal Network, Chair of Nephrology at Ontario Medical Association, and President of Ontario Association of Nephrologists, Mark’s impact on healthcare is profound. His extensive experience and passion for patient care continue to shape FirstHx’s journey towards innovative healthcare solutions.

SVP Strategy & Partnerships

Beth Gerritsen, RN(EC)

Primary Care Nurse Practitioner | Clinical & Strategy Advisor, eHealth Centre of Excellence |
Sessional Instructor Assistant, University of Toronto

Beth is a Primary Care Nurse Practitioner with a visionary approach. She champions digital transformation through her review of fax technology in Ontario’s health system. Using design thinking, Beth leverages technology to enhance team-based care and address patient needs.

CTO

Lachlan Holmes

Global Executive MBA in Healthcare and the Life Sciences, University of Toronto | Startup software leader

Lachlan is a software veteran with 23 years of experience in development and management. His journey spans various continents, programming in diverse languages. With a healthcare background in startups and innovations like COVID-19 diagnostics, Lachlan’s leadership style fosters growth. Holding a Global Executive MBA in Healthcare, he shapes FirstHx’s visionary solutions.

Chief Nursing Officer

Kate Groff

Experienced Digital Health Executive | Nurse Practitioner in Pediatrics | Doctorate Student at John Hopkins School of Nursing 

With over 15 years of nursing experience, Kate’s expertise as a pediatric clinical specialist spans various areas, including pediatric pulmonology & critical care, oncology, NICU, and stem cell transplant. As Chief Nursing Officer, Kate plays a pivotal role in advancing PedsHx, the tailored pediatric history module for patients ages two to 16.

COO

Kirsten Lewis

Former Program Manager, Regional Chronic Kidney Disease Programs at Ontario Renal Network | Former Multi-Program Manager, University Health Network | Former Senior Vice President – Clinical

Kirsten is a clinician executive committed to bringing her experience to ensure strategic operations and growth. Having learned from varied transformative leadership roles, she brings visionary thinking and a forward-looking mindset. Kirsten is committed to driving meaningful change, inspiring others, and leaving a lasting impact.

Managing Director of the United States

Dr. Asif Ali

Dr. Ali is a distinguished Clinical Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston and a managing director of Houston Cardiology Consultants. His profound impact on cardiovascular healthcare extends beyond clinical practice, as he has served as a chief consultant to several national startup companies, including roles as Global Chief Medical Officer for a remote patient monitoring company and Chief Medical Advisor for various medical technology firms.

With numerous administrative roles, including Chief Medical Officer, Chief of Education, and Chief of Cardiology at leading Houston area hospitals, Dr. Ali plays an instrumental role in shaping the future of cardiovascular healthcare technology and innovation on a national scale. He is an elected member of the Health Technology Advisory Group and serves on the artificial intelligence committee of the American Heart Association (AHA).

Dr. Ali’s dedication to advancing healthcare is further evident through his contributions to national media platforms and publications. He is renowned for his pioneering research and experimental papers outlining the future of cardiovascular healthcare.

In addition to his work in cardiology, Dr. Ali is a dynamic entrepreneur and founder of Cena Ventures, a business advisory firm focused on guiding emerging companies in the healthcare technology space.

Chief Product Officer

Dr. James East

Internal Medicine and Critical Care Physician, Mackenzie Health | Co-founder, EmergentC.ca 

James specializes in optimizing electronic health records. With research interests in biomedical ethics and medical law, he brings a unique perspective. During COVID, he co-founded EmergentC.ca, a global resource for emerging evidence. James joined FirstHx in 2021, furthering his vision of advancing healthcare technology.

CMO and Co-Founder

Dr. Roman Elinson

Interventional Pain Management, Painless Medicine and Therapeutics Clinic | Interventional Pain Management, Cloudcare Clinic

Roman has broad experience across a wide spectrum of primary care including Emergency medicine (Rural and Urban), Family medicine (Rural and Urban) and Travel Medicine (ISTM Certified). He currently practices Interventional Pain Management at the Painless Medicine and Therapeutics Clinic, Toronto, ON and at the Cloudcare Clinic, Toronto, ON. Roman Co-Founded FirstHx in 2015.

Managing Director MEA

Jacqueline Duvoisin

Former Managing Director, UAE, Netcetera | Former Senior Vice President MEA, Clinical Solutions, Think Research | Former Regional Director Middle East & Africa, Clinical Solutions, Health, Elsevier | Executive MBA, INSEAD

Jacqueline is a dedicated and trusted Senior Business Builder with a proven track record in various industries and international settings. With extensive experience in commercial and organizational leadership roles, she shines as a Middle East expert. Since 2002, she has been an integral part of the Gulf, leveraging her deep network and expertise.

Executive Director of Ophthalmology

Dr. Blake Hampton

Comprehensive ophthalmologist, cataract and minimally invasive glaucoma surgeon, Alamance Eye Center

Dr. Hampton is an early-career comprehensive ophthalmologist who diagnoses and treats diseases involving the eyelids, cornea, lens, retina, vitreous, uvea and optic nerve, with particular interest in refractive cataract surgery. He is passionate about leveraging operational efficiency to improve clinical/surgical workflows and patient experience while reducing overhead for eye care provider practices.

Dr. Hampton will focus on mitigating ophthalmic technician and eye care provider shortages, reducing onboarding burden, standardizing and streamlining the patient intake process, improving pre-encounter patient triage and education, and optimizing data quality and analysis for clinical trial and practice-specific internal processes.

The collaboration between Dr. Hampton and FirstHx provides foundational software upon which best practices in patient intake can be automated while tailoring decision trees to specific practice and provider needs. Dr. Hampton will support FirstHx’s positive impact on eye care practices and their patients.

Executive Director of Dermatology

Dr. Stephen Lewellis

Dermatologist, Founder of Above & Beyond Dermatology, and host of The Direct Care Derm podcast

Stephen Lewellis, MD, PhD, FAAD, is a Stanford and NYU-trained, board-certified dermatologist with a passion for integrating conventional and functional/lifestyle medicine principles and tactics to improve healthpsan and happiness through the lens of skin, hair, and nail disease.

He is the founder of Above & Beyond Dermatology, an integrative dermatology center committed to raising the standard of care through heart-centered hospitality, fair and transparent pricing, prompt access, and quality time spent with your dermatologist. 

In addition to working one on one with his patients, Dr. Lewellis shares his experiences and expertise through The Direct Care Derm podcast and the Above & Beyond Dermatology email newsletter.

Executive Medical Advisor

Dr. Prashant Phalpher

Medical Director of Digital Health, William Osler Health System | Emergency Services Lead, Ontario Health | Global Executive MBA in Healthcare and the Life Sciences, University of Toronto

Dr. Prashant Phalpher is an experienced hospital leader who has successfully driven innovation in emergency medicine and built high performing teams who deliver excellent person-centered care. 

The Board of Directors

Joel Finlayson

Sarah Hutchison

Dr. Dorian Lo

Joel Finlayson

Former Managing Director, Healthcare, Accenture Canada | Former Venture Partner and LP, iGan Partners

Joel has been consulting to and investing in healthcare for over twenty years in Canada, the US, the UK and throughout the Middle East. 

Throughout his career, Joel has led large-scale health system reform programs and is well-versed with the needs and complexities of health system transformations. He is an advocate for private sector collaboration with governments in the modernisation of healthcare and has experience driving the adoption of new technologies and new data-driven services to help to address some of the most pressing and complicated challenges in healthcare. 

He has been a Director of the Canadian Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons International and he is a Fellow of the Creative Destruction Lab in Toronto.

Sarah Hutchison

Former CEO, OntarioMD | Former CIO, Ontario Medical Association | Medical Innovation Leader

Sarah is an experienced health system executive that has a strong track record of driving results-based delivery.  With an extensive background and knowledge of digital health policy and delivery, she has been effective in ensuring that clinicians, and their patients, are actively represented in system discussions about the evolution of community-based practice delivery in Ontario.    

Sarah has excellent policy and health systems understanding and most recently has been actively involved in advancing access to virtual care in her work at both the national and provincial level, including her contribution to Canadian Medical Association’s Virtual Care Task Force and Health Canada’s Expert Advisory Committee on Virtual Care 

Dr. Dorian Lo

President, Express Scripts Canada | Former Executive Vice President Pharmacy & Healthcare, Shoppers Drug Mart | Former Chief Medical Officer, Medco Health Plans US Division

Dr. Dorian Lo has a life-long passion of improving the health of people in Canada and globally. As President of Express Scripts Canada, he manages Canada’s leading Health and Pharmacy Benefits Manager, which administers the pharmacy & dental benefits for 8 million Canadians and $6 billion in spend, on behalf of its insurer clients. 

Dorian previously led Pharmacy for Shoppers Drug Mart and was Chief Medical Officer for Medco’s Health Plans Division in the US. As a former primary care and emergency doctor, Dorian practiced in Canada and Nigeria. Dorian has been a board member for Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores, Chilton Hospital foundation and the State Society of Aging of New York. He is an Adjunct Lecturer at University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health. 

Join the FirstHx Team

Help us continue building products that improve the healthcare system. We are always looking for innovative people.