Denis Protti

Professor Denis Protti’s professional memoirs detail his Health Informatics journey and his experiences in establishing the School of Health Information Science at the University of Victoria. 

Professor Protti was the founding Director of the University of Victoria’s School of Health Information Science in 1981, a position he relinquished in 1994.  He retired from teaching in July 2010.  Prior to joining the University, he held senior information systems executive positions in Manitoba and British Columbia hospitals. He continued to do research, advise and publish in the following areas: National Health Information Management & Technology Strategies, Electronic Health Records, and Evaluating Information Systems until 2016.

Professor Protti was a founding member of COACH - Canada’s Health Informatics organization.  He served as its 2^nd President and was granted lifetime member status in 1981.  He was a founding member of the American Medical Informatics Association; in 1989 he was one of the first non-Americans elected a fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics.  He became a lifetime member of the British Computer Society in 2003. He chaired and served on numerous international, federal and provincial committees and councils over his 44-year career.  In 2017, he was elected a founding member of the International Academy of Health Science Informatics.

In 2004, an Endowment Fund was created at the University of Victoria in the name of Denis and Pat Protti by the Partnership & Productivity Colloquium – a group Professor Protti founded in 1984 – for their contributions to Canada’s healthcare system.  Professor Protti has received several awards including the COACH leadership award.  He was also the first recipient of the Canadian Health Leadership Network’s MacNaught-Taillon Award for his contributions to Canadian health care.  In 2012, he was the inaugural recipient of the Techna Health Innovator Award.

Professor Protti wrote hundreds of publications in books and journals and gave even more presentations to a wide range of audiences around the world.   He advised and sat on expert panels for health care organizations and government agencies in both Canada and abroad.    He was chair of the Informing Healthcare’s International Advisory Group for NHS Wales, a member of the TicSalut Scientific Council in Catalonia Spain, and the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Digital Health; he also served as a regular external reviewer for the European Commission.

In 1998, Professor Protti was commissioned by the Her Majesty’s Treasury to review the proposed National Health Service (NHS) Information for Health Strategy for England prior to its release. He later developed the evaluation methodology that was used to monitor the local implementation of their national strategy.  For over 25 years, he was invited annually by the Government and a variety of English organizations to conduct on-site reviews, take part on research teams, give seminars, and comment on the UK’s progress with their Electronic Health Records journey.  In May 2009, he was granted an Honorary Doctor Science from City University London for his contributions to the British health care system.