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Connor Atchison – Inspiring Canadians Feature

Connor Atchison: Making a Difference in Claims

Wisedocs’ Connor Atchison is a veteran with twelve years of military service under his belt. After serving as infantry under the Department of National Defense, Connor worked in healthcare claims administration which is where he saw the need for greater efficiency in medical claims. 

After watching thousands of veterans move slowly through the claims process (including liability claims, short term, or long term disability), Connor immediately saw the need for change. 

This led to the creation of Wisedocs.

Wisedocs is Connor’s answer to the manually intensive task of medical claims. Wisedocs is an artificial intelligence (AI) platform that can quickly index, organize, and digitize medical records: making them easy to sort and easy to understand. Unstructured medical records can span thousands of pages, and processing them is often done by hand. This leads to long wait times, backlogs, and delays that are frustrating for everyone involved.

What’s so bad about paperwork?

The total time saved from sifting through paperwork amounts to more than you’d think. Medical records administrators, paralegals, medical experts, and insurers can get through a medical file over 80% faster when it’s automated. For the patient (and their family), this time savings can amount to real, tangible change – in a patient’s life, in their family, and in their future health outcomes after the claim. 

Making this change was Connor’s goal when starting Wisedocs, and it remains a driving force behind the company’s mission and goals. After finding out about the piles of paperwork behind industry-wide backlogs, Connor set out to create a solution that addressed the root cause of delay. 

The manually intensive approach to processing claims had a ripple effect. As the claim worked its way through chains of insurers, doctors, case managers, and patients, all parties had to access documents relating to the claim. This often led to communication errors, duplicate pages, additional manual work, and an overall increased demand on teams and longer waiting periods for claimants.

Smart automation means time saved for insurance claims

Automation as it was in the past had trouble dealing with handwritten or unstructured pages. Computers couldn’t recognize the handwritten characters, such as physician’s notes, indicating, for example, a patient’s name, height, and age. Independent medical examiners, who are often called up to provide insight into the claim, would have to sift through the record by hand, gaining a full medical picture before lending their expertise. This process could take days, or longer. 

Artificial intelligence offered up the right tools for change. With AI, medical records can be processed efficiently – without sacrificing accuracy or professional expertise. The AI-powered platform of Wisedocs can sift through thousands of pages in a fraction of the time – digitizing, indexing, and organizing these documents so that they can be easily accessed by the professional in charge of the claim. The professional can then save even more time reviewing an organized, indexed medical record, to focus on lending their professional expertise in resolving the claim. Technology streamlines this process to  take mere hours, rather than days.

Connor decided to rough together an early technological solution to the problem and take the challenge head-on.

“Originally, I wasn’t sure what an automated solution would look like, but what I did know – and what I cared about – was that Wisedocs was something worth building. I coded an original version of Wisedocs, then called Bear Health Technologies Solutions, and launched the initial product to the market.”

Wisedocs’ vision for smarter and faster claims processes

When it comes to the future of Wisedocs, Connor is clear about his vision for change. He sees a future where working with medical records faster is the norm – not the exception, and Wisedocs has certainly made strides towards that goal. After working with independent medical evaluators and other firms who use complex medical data, Wisedocs has expanded to work directly with legal and insurance providers. The company also works with workers’ compensation and similar organizations, automating the process behind thousands of claims. 

It’s all in a day’s work for Connor, who remains ready for change. At the end of a slow, expensive process for claims is the months, weeks or days saved for claimants. While using automation to speed up medical claims might not get a lot of attention, it’s a major milestone in the process of improving an industry where patients often wait 18 months for the results of a claim.  

Connor remains focused on reaching his goal. He says the perseverance, drive, and forward thinking he learned in the military continues to support him when leading his team. Working in the tech industry is certainly a shift from the traditional military environment, but Connor is a huge proponent of helping other veterans use these skills. 

“Founders often find themselves elated one day and disappointed the next. The military taught me that any plan is only good until the line of departure, so it’s important to be able to adapt.”

Wisedocs is a blend of expert leaders and an engaged team, many of whom have had an experience with claims and understand the passion behind Wisedocs’ mission. They’re all focused on growing towards the same goal: finding a faster, easier way to handle claims. 

Connor Atchison

Title: Founder and CEO 

Full: Connor Atchison is the Founder and CEO of Wisedocs, the smart way to review and summarize medical records. Connor is an experienced founder with a demonstrated history of working in health services, information technology, and management consulting. He aims to digitize a formerly manual industry through the adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning to support tedious processes. As a former veteran with 12 years of military service under the Department of National Defence, he strives to change the process for filing health insurance and disability claims for insurance, legal, medical evaluators, and their claimants. 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connormatchison/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ConnorAtchison_ 

 
Social Links: 

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Inspiring Canadians: Entrepreneur Danish Yusuf

Zensurance specializes in serving Canada’s small business community by bringing the commercial insurance-buying process into the 21st century.

The Canadian business insurance industry is often perceived as slow-moving and resistant to change. And for small business owners, entrepreneurs, startups, and self-employed professionals searching for affordable, adequate insurance to protect their financial well-being, it’s a complex and time-consuming process.

Enter Zensurance, a Toronto-based technology company and small business insurance brokerage established in 2016 that’s disrupting and modernizing the commercial insurance landscape by making it easy and user-friendly for small business owners to buy the coverage they need online.

The brainchild of Founder and CEO Danish Yusuf, Zensurance is a first-to-market insurtech (insurance technology) dedicated to serving Canada’s economic backbone: small businesses.

Recognizing the inefficiencies and complexities inherent in Canada’s traditional insurance brokerage model during his time as a former leader in McKinsey & Company’s Digital Insurance practice, Yusuf identified the opportunity to leverage proprietary technology to create a better way for small business owners to get insured. 

Whereas purchasing small business insurance online is common in countries like the U.S. and the U.K., Canada’s insurance industry remains glued to a laborious, paper-based, cookie-cutter approach to serving small businesses and startups. It is an industry ripe for disruption.

“Although Canadians are typically quick at adopting new technologies, and we embraced e-commerce for everyday purchases early on, buying commercial insurance online was not an option widely available for small business owners in 2016. Canada’s insurance industry was lagging behind our American and British counterparts significantly,” Yusuf says. “By bringing a unique value proposition forward and making buying small business insurance as straightforward and quick as purchasing any consumer good online, Zensurance defined itself in two critical ways: an insurtech focused solely on supporting our small business community and bringing the insurance-buying process into the 21st century while providing top-tier customer support.”

A software architect and developer at IBM Canada before his time at McKinsey, Yusuf envisioned digitizing the business insurance application process. By using proprietary technology and analytics to recommend insurance policies for different types of small businesses, he developed a robust, secure platform featuring instant pricing through a partnership network of more than 50 insurance providers for business owners and self-employed professionals to get a free insurance quote and explore and manage their options. 

However, establishing trust and credibility in the small business community was paramount. Small business owners and independent professionals are often risk-averse and accustomed to relying on established institutions for their insurance needs. 

To overcome this skepticism, Yusuf focused on transparency and education. By demystifying insurance jargon, simplifying complex coverage options, and providing clear, concise information, Zensurance empowers small business owners to make informed decisions. Furthermore, he emphasized the time-saving, cost-effective nature of Zensurance’s services, highlighting the ease of use and the ability to receive immediate coverage without requiring extensive paperwork or visiting an office.

He also built up a licensed team of brokers to serve as trusted insurance and risk mitigation advisors to help guide the firm’s clients and customize their policies to suit individual needs.

The results since 2016 are impressive. Named to The Globe and Mail’s annual Report on Business ranking of Top Growing Companies in 2020, 2021, and 2022, and with a 4.8 out of 5-star rating on Google Reviews, Zensurance served its 250,000th client in early 2023. Moreover, its fully remote-working employee base has grown to more than 275 people.

For more information, please visit https://www.zensurance.com and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

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Inspirational story of a Canadian Dentist’s Life Interrupted

Inspirational story of a Canadian Dentist's Life Interrupted

AN INSPIRING CANADIAN STORY

Dr. Manu Dua – A message of true love and helping others

Dr. Manu Dua, a Calgarian Dentist and owner of Montgomery Dental, passed away of metastatic Oral Cancer in March 2021. He was 34.

In his last days, he reflected and wrote a series of blogs that are now a book called “Life Interrupted, Dr. Dua’s Survival Guide” available on Amazon. This book deals with life, loss, and his lessons he reflected on as he faced his mortality at age 34. He talks about finding beauty in small things, facing fear, learning from failure, respecting death and leaving the world a better place. To realize that even as the world falls apart, to never lose hope. That in the worst of times, under the worst of circumstances, we are more powerful than we can imagine. 

This story is about losing everything, grieving and finding the courage to move on. How Dr. Parul Dua Makkar (Manu’s sister) managed this grief of losing her younger and only sibling and dealt with everything as a mom, daughter, sister, wife, dentist, business owner, daughter-in-law, of the many hats she wears.

The book also talks about the many faults in the Canadian Health system that led to his death. Manu’s metastasis happened in 2020, followed by death in March of 2021 at the height of the pandemic. In this book, Dr. Parul Dua Makkar writes about how she flew with permission from Canada on Compassion release bases to travel from NY to Calgary, where he resided. This story is important to share to bring awareness to Oral Cancer and know signs and symptoms. This is an important topic to her on a personal and professional level. Dr. Parul Dua Makkar hopes that through awareness and early detection, more lives can be saved. So, no parent has to bury/cremate a young child due to Oral Cancer.

There is also a podcast of same name “Life Interrupted, Dr Dua’s Survival Guide podcast companion” where Dr. Parul Dua Makkar talks about her brother Dr Manu Dua with some of Calgary’s Dental Specialists and Doctors. This podcast was a way to heal and express grief, a chance that COVID had stolen.  

Manu was an excellent writer and was featured on several Dental magazines and was on the cover of DentalTown in Nov 2019. This book, Life Interrupted, Dr. Dua’s Survival Guide has been featured by the American and Canadian Dental Associations.

Manu was a prominent and well-liked owner and Dentist and owner of Montgomery Dental in NW Calgary.  His clinic won best of Montgomery 2020.  He also volunteered for C.U.P.S and mission trips for the less fortunate in Peru. Manu’s parents are a true immigrant success story, his dad retired from a senior management position at SNC Lavalin, and his mom retired from CBE. They still reside in Calgary. Manu graduated and was the MC at his graduation from Earnest Manning High School. He was also on the Rugby team that won provincial championships. An avid sports player, he won medals for squash and badminton. He went to the University of Calgary and later obtained his Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) from the University of British Columbia.

Manu also had a dog, Maya, taken in and adopted by his palliative nurse as he went from palliative to hospice and subsequently died. His nurse still brings the dog, Maya, over to come to visit the family. 

Manu’s message is of hope and resilience. The message has been carried forward by his sister (Dr. Parul Dua Makkar), who has been featured in multiple places; see below:

https://www.e-desinews.com/august-2022/lifelines-my-brother-threads-together-my-past-present-and-future

May this book be a way to do self-reflection and live your best life, as tomorrow is promised to no one. You can reach Dr. Parul Dua Makkar on Instagram @pdmfamilydental.

An excerpt from the book Life Interrupted, Dr. Dua’s Survival Guide. 

“…Our lives will come and go, but our ideas will remain immortal, and therefore in essence the soul behind our work remains eternal. So, seek not to fear your own mortality, but rather embrace the challenge to create something that will outlive your fears and wildest imaginations, such that you may be able to provide service years after you have dearly departed. Live with the strength that not only is this not possible, but quiet tangible if we can simply let go of fears that will not serve us with any purpose in this life or next.”- Dr. Manu Dua

Get book.

Listen to podcast

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Kevin Goldberg – An Inspiring Canadian Feature

About Kevin:

Kevin is the CEO and president of SoilFLO. SoilFLO has been in operations since June of 2019. Since then, it has been the trailblazer in implementing digital tools for our most forgotten construction sector – the earthmovers.

Those involved in the Land Development Supply Chain and earthmoving remain reliant on paper-based systems. These systems are leaving them exposed to liability and loss to their bottom line. Hours are spent reconciling paperwork and organizing accounts payable. Using SoilFLO, contractors, developers and consultants can track soil excavation, aggregate import and related administrative processes, such as managing hauler invoices.

Since founding with the company, Kevin has added 10 new employees and SoilFLO is used on over 100 construction sites per day.

The Future of Earthworks

The earthmoving industry lacks easily accessible data. It is often unknown where soil ends up and many companies don’t understand the reuse opportunities available. Improper disposal of soils can result in leaching chemicals into nearby ground or surface waters which could then be ingested by plants, animals or even human drinking water. The first step to optimizing any industry is to start with transparency. SoilFLO is disrupting the industry by enabling customers to track and store their soil movement digitally.

Once we have transparency we can begin optimizing the reuse of one of our most underrated non-renewable resources, soil.

Potential for International Expansion

One of the most impressive things about Kevin has been his ability to expand his business internationally. SoilFLO has recently been onboarded onto nationally recognized infrastructure projects in both Australia and UK. The team is excited on how they can continue the growth within these countries.

What’s Next?

Kevin is extremely driven toward building a business that helps the environment, creates jobs and grows the Canadian economy. He looks forward to continuing to expand SoilFLO and empowering the modernization of the Earthworks industry.

Causes that Kevin supports:

  • Muskoka Watershed Council
  • Excess Soils Symposium
  • Contamination Expo in the UK
  • ONIA Excess Soils Round Table
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Kendall Ansell and Her Mission to ‘Rebuild’ the Construction Industry

Kendall Ansell is an award-winning interior designer and owner of both Kendall Ansell Interiors and Belle Construction.

It all Started at Home

From early on, I knew I would be working in the business of homes. Growing up, I spent most weekends helping my Dad, who worked as a contractor, with family projects. As soon as I set foot on a build, I felt inspired by the way you could take something out of nothing and facilitate a home for people. This early passion blossomed into a fascination to understand how people live and make their spaces a reflection of who they are.

When it came time to pursue my passions, I moved my way through architectural drafting during post-secondary studies, then transitioned into the design. Following the completion of school, I created ‘Kendall Ansell Interiors’, an interior design firm, in 2010. Through this, I executed countless successful projects alongside my team and was the recipient of the Best Interior Designer Award from Burnaby Now 6 years in a row. The best part of my career is making peoples’ dreams into a reality, which is what has held true throughout each project I do.

Why Belle Construction?

After years of working in the design trade and visiting job sites, the discrimination against women was very evident. It never sat right with me that an industry which should bring joy and creativity had fostered such a hostile environment. To understand how this became the norm, a key factor is that the industry as a whole is male-dominated – in 2020 it was documented that only 5% of tradespeople were women. This number is far too low to ensure there is true gender equality throughout the trades.

This was an issue I couldn’t ignore, which led to the creation of my Vancouver-based construction business, Belle Construction. At Belle, we have a female-led team and are breaking the barriers that have previously existed for women in the construction trade. It was important to me to create a positive place to work where women and members of the 2SLGBTQA+ community would feel safe and have the freedom to explore their passion to execute beautiful projects. Since its creation, we’ve been able to tackle countless projects all while setting a new precedent for work environments in our industry.

Through Belle Construction, we submitted an application to the Human Rights Tribunal to exclusively hire and recruit women without it being penalized as discrimination. We outlined the hiring issues, gender inequalities and safety issues in a lengthy essay that ended up being approved – making us one of the first companies to ever achieve this feat. Belle Construction is at the start of a new era that prioritizes the safety and success of women in an industry that has previously discarded them.

My efforts to protect women’s safety extend beyond just Belle Construction and have been an incredible segue for partnerships like with the WISH Drop-in Centre Society, which prioritizes the health, safety, and wellbeing of women experiencing poverty – 60% of whom are Indigenous. Through Belle, we are able to connect with other organizations that have the same goals and find solutions to fight gender inequality together.

How to Rebuild

Belle Construction is just the start of what’s needed to rebuild the construction and trades industries. We’re also taking action by franchising Belle with the goal of creating opportunities across Canada for women and allowing other female leaders to run well-established construction companies. This, along with initiatives from other female-led organizations, will push us further towards a more equitable industry.

I am also keen to increase thought leadership amongst industry peers. The more awareness we can bring to the issue, the better. By sharing my story and the success I have experienced through pursuing equity in trades, I hope it inspires other women to do the same and give hope to younger generations looking to pursue trades.

I believe that awareness at a young age will be an incredible way to get more women to enroll in trade programs and eventually join us on job sites. As many children’s toys and books are highly gendered, it is still challenging for young girls to explore passions that are deemed “male.” As such, I wrote a children’s book, “Belle and Friends Build a House,” to show young girls that the industry is ready to welcome them.

I hope to inspire others to take their part in rebuilding an old system, transforming it into a new one that is welcoming and safe for all genders and orientations to thrive. Belle Construction is just the first “renovation project” of many.

Kendall Ansell is an award-winning interior designer and owner of both Kendall Ansell Interiors and Belle Construction. Kendall has extensive experience in the industry and focuses on an inclusive approach that is combined with knowledge of classic design and construction. Her incredible mix of skills and approach gives her the unique ability to create homes and offices with substance and style that turns her client’s dreams into a reality.

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Chef Donald Guthro – An Inspiring Canadian Feature

Chef Donald Guthro - An Inspiring Canadian Feature

Chef Donald Guthro - An Inspiring Canadian FeatureChef Donald Guthro was born and raised in rural Canada. He received his Commerce degree and professional Chef training at George Brown College in Ontario. Don then set out to refine his skills and educate himself internationally in Europe, working throughout France and Italy while learning the trade and traditions from old-world culinary pioneers. He also witnessed life in impoverished regions with high unemployment which would later become the catalyst or motivator for an entirely new way of looking at business. When Don returned to Canada, he worked as Chef and Executive Chef in some of Canada’s top restaurants across the country as well as working chef at the Olympic Games. In addition, he formed a catering company and restaurant consulting firm where he assisted other restaurateurs to become successful in their businesses. Chef Don Guthro arrived in Vancouver as an executive chef before becoming the director of a renowned local and international culinary school. However, the high cost of culinary tuition, lack of affordable housing and skilled entry-level cooks in the area left Chef Don Guthro to ponder social enterprise as the vehicle to educate Canada’s top cooks.

In 2010 he created the NS Culinary Educational Society becoming D.I.C.E.D Culinary School. Through his own initiative and resources, he is fulfilling his dream to help aspiring cooks get the education and training for a successful future in the culinary industry. After 40 years and counting in the culinary field, Chef Don Guthro shows no sign of slowing down. His abundant experience has led him to create an innovative, self-funded socially good business model investing in people. Proceeds from his catering company, restaurant and culinary consultations are used to support D.I.C.E.D Culinary School by providing affordable education for all and full sponsorship for those that qualify. While Chef Don Guthro plans to continue his direct involvement in the day-to-day running of the company, he hopes to find time to author educational texts that support culinary growth and success in all communities.

We are a social purpose business situated in Vancouver, BC. We currently operate a restaurant (NSCS Discovery), catering company (Culinary Choreography), condiment line, and run meal programs for the at-risk and homeless.

What do we do? With the proceeds of these ventures, we offset the cost of our culinary training program so that it is accessible to anyone interested in pursuing a career in the culinary industry. We recently put the school online so that we could not only lift the financial restrictions of culinary training but the geographical ones as well.

Our School: DICED (Diverse Innovation in Culinary Educational Development). DICED is an online educational program that allows students to complete the required course work over a 40 week period while working and gaining experience simultaneously. We offset the cost of the tuition so that the amount owed by the student is minimal. It is our hope that by graduating without debt, we will strengthen the skilled labour force of the culinary industry. As it stands right now, only a fraction of culinary school graduates remains in the industry due to exorbitant debt load. They are forced to seek out higher-paying jobs and in doing so, give up on a career they are passionate about, which means the industry loses prospective talent. Our online program is a win-win for both students and industry alike.

He runs a social purpose business situated in Vancouver, BC. He currently operates a restaurant (NSCS Discovery), catering company (Culinary Choreography), condiment line, and runs meal programs for the at risk and homeless.

With the proceeds of these ventures, he offsets the cost of the culinary training program so that it is accessible to anyone interested in pursuing a career in the culinary industry. He recently put the school online so that he could not only lift the financial restrictions of culinary training but the geographical ones as well.

DICED (Diverse Innovation in Culinary Educational Development). DICED is an online educational program that allows students to complete the required course work over a 40 week period while working and gaining experience simultaneously. He offsets the cost of the tuition so that the amount owed by the student is minimal. It is his hope that by graduating without debt, there will be a strengthened skilled labour force in the culinary industry. As it stands right now, only a fraction of culinary school graduates remains in the industry due to exorbitant debt load. They are forced to seek out higher-paying jobs and in doing so, give up on a career they are passionate about, which means the industry loses prospective talent. D.I.C.E.D’s online program is a win-win for both students and industry alike. Learn more about DICED here.

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Featuring Inspiring Canadian Immigrants: Saye Sathiyakumar – Managing Partner at Power Staffing Solutions

Featuring Inspiring Canadian Immigrants – Saye Sathiyakumar

Saye Sathiyakumar is a minority-based owner, representing the South Asian community who was raised in a less privileged and low-income borough in Toronto (Scarborough).

Saye did schooling in Scarborough from kindergarten to high school, then pursued a Diploma in Graphic Communications Management at Ryerson University. His passion has always been in design and art, and how he can communicate messages and convey stories to the community through various art forms.

When stumbling upon the Staffing & Recruitment industry, he decided to bring his creativity to the workforce. Saye excelled in sales, being a world-class storyteller. Connecting businesses with people and employing over 3000+ associates over the course of his career thus far.

Professional Journey

Saye Sathiyakumar is a senior executive within the recruitment industry, with 10 years of high-level sales, operations and management experience. Generated and managed a $10M+ portfolio with Arrow Group of Companies as an employee (2013-2018). Since then he has risen to the ranks of the Managing Partner, and spearheading Power Staffing Solutions, in partnership with AGC.

The business is only it’s 4th year and has had astronomical growth. Founded in late 2018, Power Staffing Solutions services both the Technology and Healthcare industry in staffing and recruitment. PSS has had 900% growth from 2019 to 2020 in gross sales. From 2020 to 2021, Power had a 118% growth, closing off the year with record breaking industry numbers. Power Healthcare, a division of PSS, is currently the third largest healthcare staffing agency in Canada as of 2021, and is striving to expand further in the U.S within the upcoming years. Power Tech Solutions, the IT & Professional staffing division of PSS has made strong partnerships with startup businesses, big box corporations, and executive searches. PSS has also partaken in a recent acquisition, partnering with fellow sister company within the Arrow Group of Companies, expanding its services beyond staffing (see more). Saye’s resilience to growing & scaling the business to new heights every year, while supporting his hometown of Scarborough, ON is commendable and an inspiration to many.

PSS currently employs more than 500 professionals across Canada, who are either servicing on the field or employed within the firm. Saye is determined that PSS will become one of the largest Healthcare & Technology staffing providers out of Toronto, Canada. He states, “We are just getting started”.

Philanthropic Initiatives

Among many initiatives, Saye recently started the most prestigious Scholarship program at his high school, Woburn Collegiate Institute that was named after his close friend who passed away from mental illness. Starting the scholarship program was a way to bring awareness to mental health, and support students at any aspiration they wish to pursue after high school.The recipient will be awarded based on not only academics but being overall a good human.

Saye aspires to continue supporting his community of Scarborough, and directly assisting fellow immigrants in finding a future in whatever endeavour they wish.

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