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Biography
Dr. Michael Baker is the Rose Family Chair in Medicine at University Health Network and Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.
His career interests have included cancer research, medical administration, leadership in patient safety, and a consulting practice in hematology and complex medical care. He has been active in philanthropy both as a donor and as a champion for major donations to medical research and education.
Dr. Baker’s research has focused on the diagnosis and treatment of leukemia and aspects of cancer control, leading to more than 100 publications in this field. He has chaired several national and provincial cancer research committees, and served as President of the National Cancer Institute of Canada for three years. He has been elected as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.
He was the Physician-in-Chief of University Health Network for a period of 18 years, and was the inaugural holder of the Charles H. Hollenberg Chair in Medicine. He is currently Chair of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.
Dr. Baker is the recipient of several prestigious awards including the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada, the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He has been appointed to the Order of Ontario and to membership in the Order of Canada.
Industry Expertise (6)
Health Care - Services
Health Care - Providers
Health and Wellness
Philanthropy
Training and Development
Education/Learning
Areas of Expertise (5)
Clinical Research
Haematology
Internal Medicine
Medical Consulting
Oncology
Accomplishments (7)
The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (professional)
2012-01-01
This commemorative medal served to honour significant contributions and achievements by Canadians. During the year of celebrations, 60 000 deserving Canadians were recognized.
Order of Ontario (professional)
2009-01-01
Awarded in recognition of being "a leading researcher whose work has led to a better understanding of leukemia and other cancers"
Order of Canada (professional)
2008-01-01
Awarded "for his contributions to health care in Canada, notably for his work in developing an innovative, integrated medical care program for cancer patients and for his leadership in the area of infectious disease control"
Fellow, Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (professional)
2005-01-01
CAHS Fellows are those who have a history of outstanding performance in the academic health sciences in Canada.
Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (professional)
2002-01-01
Awarded to nominees who have demonstrably contributed to public life
Charles H. Hollenberg Chair in Medicine, University Health Network (professional)
2004-01-01
Chair honouring Charles H. Hollenberg - succeeded Kager Wightman as Chair of the Department and Physician-in-Chief at Toronto General Hospital.
125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal (professional)
1993-01-01
Awarded to those Canadians deemed to have made a significant contribution to their fellow citizens, to their community, or to Canada
Education (7)
University of Toronto: MD, Medicine 1966
Mount Sinai School of Medicine: Resident, Residency in Internal Medicine 1969
Mount Sinai School of Medicine: Fellow, Haematology Residency and Research Fellowship 1972
Harvard School of Public Health: Chief of Clinical Services, Program for Chiefs of Clinical Services 1993
Harvard School of Public Health: Chief of Clinical Services, Advanced Program for Chiefs of Clinical Services 1994
INSEAD: Advanced Management Program, Department of Executive Education 1998
Fontainebleau, France
Rotman School of Management, Institute of Corporate Directors: Director, Directors Education Program 2014
Affiliations (6)
- University of Toronto : Professor of Medicine
- Mount Sinai Hospital, Department of Medicine: Associate Staff
- Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences: Board of Directors
- Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Board of Directors: Chief
- University of Toronto Medical Journal, Faculty Advisory Board
- University of Toronto Medical Journal: Faculty Advisory Board
Media Appearances (4)
Official Opening of the Krembil Discovery Tower
The Brain Campaign online
2013-11-20
Other Campaign Cabinet members include: Dr. Bob Bell, Dr. Michael Baker, Fraser Fell, Leo Goldhar, Todd Halpern, Mark Krembil, John Mulvihill, Dr. Christopher Paige, David W. Smith, Dr. Peter St. George-Hyslop and Dr. Charles Tator. The Canada Foundation for Innovation gave approximately $33 million in grant funding to support the development of the space and research infrastructure within the Krembil Discovery Tower...
3rd Annual Diwali - A Night to Shine 2013 Raises Over 3.7 Million in Support of UHN
NewsWire online
2013-10-22
Diwali Co-chair Dr. Michael Baker, Rose Family Chair in Medicine, announced the new gift of 3 million dollars by G. Raymond Chang and the Chang Family to the HoPingKong Centre for Excellence in Education and Practice. "We are deeply honoured by the continued generosity and support of the Chang Family. This donation will ensure the long-time growth and sustainability of this program and the commitment to education and practice that it embodies." said Dr. Baker...
What is the JCB Grant Society?
The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation online
2013-10-10
We had the pleasure of hearing from Dr. Michael Baker, the Rose Family Chair in Medicine at the University Health Network, who took our audience on a journey on how far we have come in the fight against cancer. His story of hope and encouragement interweaving science and humour to tackle such a complex disease left our audience, in particularly me, feeling inspired...
Patients win right to know
The Toronto Star online
2007-05-05
Dr. Michael Baker, UHN Physician-in-Chief who advises the Ministry of Health on patient safety, said: "Analyzing mortality rates and infections and other issues lead us to analyze what we can do better. The American evidence does suggest that it leads to improvements in safety. We can't look bad if we disclose. We can only look good for sharing what we have."
Event Appearances (10)
Speaker
Medicine as a Spiritual Practice: Toward a Wholistic Public Healthcare Toronto, ON
2010-10-15
Speaker
Physician Leadership York University, Toronto
2014-01-01
Speaker
Health Systems Change University Health Network Board of Trustees Retreat
2010-04-01
Speaker
Hospital Patient Safety St. Joseph’s Healthcare Board, Hamilton
2009-10-01
Speaker
Hospital Patient Safety Kingston General Hospital
2008-11-01
Speaker
Leading Us Forward in Prostate Cancer Prostate Cancer Conference, Toronto
2007-09-01
Speaker
Patient Safety in Ontario Ontario Hospital Association, Huntsville
2007-09-01
Speaker
Patient Safety in Hospitals The Canadian Insitute, Toronto
2007-01-01
Speaker
Patient Safety Initiatives Canadian Patient Safety Institute, Toronto
2006-12-01
Speaker
Quality and Safety in Ontario’s Wait Time Strategy Ontario Ministry of Health, Toronto
2006-11-01
Articles (7)
Comparative economic analyses of patient safety improvement strategies in acute care: A Systematic review.
BMJ Quality & Safety
2012-04-22
The objective was to systematically review comparative economic analyses of patient safety improvements in the acute care setting.
The Economic burden of patient safety targets in acute care.
Drug Healthcare and Patient Safety.
2012-01-01
The objectives were to: 1. Summarize the scope and quality of published studies on the economic burden of adverse events in the acute care setting. 2. Summarize the scope and quality of published comparative economic evaluations (cost effectiveness analyses) of patient safety improvement strategies in the acute care setting. 3. Estimate the economic burden of adverse events on the Canadian acute care system. 4. Provide a framework and guidelines for performing economic burden studies and comparative economic evaluations (cost effectiveness analyses) in patient safety.
How to Run a Successful Academic Practice Plan.
JAMA
2007-01-01
"Physicians are attracted to academic health science centers because of their interest in teaching and research. They derive income from the practice of medicine but typically struggle to find sources of remuneration to support their academic activities. A widely used mechanism for funding academic activities is the practice plan, a device that pools and then redistributes income, according to an agreement or contract. There are many approaches to practice plans, and the rules change as external forces come into play.1- 5 We have managed a practice plan in a large academic department of medicine for more than 16 years. In this Commentary, we describe factors that have made it successful."
The Business Case for Patient Safety
Healthcare Quarterly
2006-01-01
The leadership team at University Health Network describes why it decided to pursue a new information technology initiative to substantially reduce human and system errors and omissions associated with medication management.
Implementation of a Computerized Physician Order Entry System of Medications at the University Health Network – Physicians’ Perspectives on the Critical Issues
Healthcare Quarterly
2005-01-01
There are many reasons why most hospitals have not adopted physician order entry systems for medications. It is a costly endeavour (Kuperman and Gibson 2003) that can cause major disruptions to workflow for physicians, pharmacists and nurses. Yet, the technology can reduce medication errors, especially with sophisticated decision support. We have presented many of the lessons learned from our successful implementation experience. To date, over 90% of medication orders are entered by physicians. The technology must be ready for the implementation. System issues such as errors, slowness and freezing give ready opportunity for critics who will claim the system is just not ready for real-time. Through rigorous testing, we were able to avoid issues previously seen in our pilot study. Usability testing with end-users was also critical in both guiding decision-making as well as validating that the system was ready for implementation. Proper training and support were also necessary. To ensure ready adoption, decision support was optimized to reduce the volume of less important alerts. Most importantly, we found that active physician involvement at multiple levels was key. This ensured that physicians understood from a high-level perspective that this change was necessary. Planning for specific implementation details had the benefit of input from physicians working in the area. Day-to-day issues of our residents and staff were also addressed promptly.
Remission of macroglobulinemia during anastrozole treatment for breast cancer.
New England Journal of Medicine
2005-01-01
Correspondence to the editor
Malignant Lymphoma of Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue of the Lacrimal Gland
American Journal of Clinical Oncology
2001-01-01
Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas are increasingly recognized as a distinct clinical-pathologic entity among the non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. It usually presents as a localized disease process in extranodal tissues or organs such as stomach, salivary gland, thyroid gland, and not infrequently in orbital adnexa. Radiotherapy has an important role in the management, although long-term clinical results specifically addressing localized MALT lymphomas are lacking. We report a case of localized MALT lymphoma of the lacrimal gland, with successful treatment by radiation therapy (total dose 25 Gy) with 3 years of clinical follow-up. A review of the published literature was undertaken to assess the role of radiotherapy in the treatment of this disease involving orbital tissues, specifically, the lacrimal gland. Based on previous reports of patients with orbital lymphomas (low grade) and pseudolymphomas, of which many will now be recognized as MALT lymphomas, radiotherapy has an excellent local control rate and would be the treatment of choice. However, long-term results of pathologically confirmed cases of MALT lymphomas need further study because occasional relapses at distant sites can occur.
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