“David Perry is a leader in the e-health sector in Prince Edward Island,” said Premier Ghiz. “This award not only recognizes his leadership and commitment to innovation in the IT and e-health sectors but to continue providing services in collaboration with RadNet.”

Mr. Perry has led a strong and diverse career in Prince Edward Island over the past 18 years. He began his IT career in 1993 with the Canada Revenue Agency; after seven years of federal service he was then recruited by Kodak Canada Inc. to lead the development of their Radiology Information System. Kodak then sold this division in 2007 to Onex Inc.; this resulted in the creation of Carestream Health Inc. and Mr. Perry moved to the position of Director of Software Research and Development.

In 2010, Mr. Perry left Carestream Health to pursue a venture with RadNet to establish a presence in Prince Edward Island. After numerous showcases and pitches on the benefits of locating on the Island, RadNet created a subsidiary called RMIS Imaging Services Inc. to house their research and development of radiology software solutions. This company started with a team of eight in 2010 and has now grown to 13.

Through the Premier’s Medal for Innovation program, RMIS Imaging Services is eligible to receive $400,000 over the next two years to develop an interoperability lab within the Holman Centre in Summerside. They will develop a system that will easily integrate between electronic patient health records and the systems used in medical imaging. RMIS has been working out of the Summerside area since 2010 but this investment by the Province will assist them in their develop costs of the interoperability lab in the e-health centre of excellence.

“It is an honour to receive this award and the financial support from Innovation PEI,” said Mr. Perry. “Over the past year we have been steadily expanding and have proved worldwide that Prince Edward Island is an excellent place for a business to thrive.”

“Dave Perry is an essential and influential member of the IT community, I want to congratulate him for attaining this award and I wish him success with his future projects,” said Innovation and Advanced Learning Minister Allen Roach. “I know Dave will continue to develop his business and the e-health sector in Summerside.”

This is the third award of the Premier’s Medal for Innovation since the Island Prosperity Strategy was released in 2008. Previous winners include 2010 winner John Rowe of Island Abbey Foods for his work in the development of dehydrated honey products and 2009 winner Dr. Russ Kerr, CEO of Nautilus Biosciences Canada Inc., for his work on discovery and development of marine-derived natural products with applications in human and animal health and wellness.

Backgrounder

Mr. Perry’s career in the Information Technology industry has spanned over 18 years. Dave began his career in the IT industry in 1993 with the federal civil service as an application developer for the Canada Revenue Agency. In 2000, Dave pitched and showcased the benefits of establishing a corporate software development group to CRA’s executive team; this development team was later re-located from Ottawa to Summerside. Starting from a group of eight engineers, this team has now grown to over 50 resources.

Dave was prospected away from CRA and joined Kodak Canada Inc. in 2000 to design and develop radiology workflow solutions for radiology. Throughout his seven year tenure with Kodak, Dave was responsible for many innovative changes within the organization including the adoption of “agile” methodology and the product implementation and support models to oversee the multitude of complex Radiology Information Systems installations around the globe. The Kodak Digital Medical Business adopted innovative solutions and the Island team was always at the forefront of this adoption. Before Kodak’s Health Imaging business unit was sold, Dave was responsible for over 50 employees at their site in Summerside.

In May 2007, Kodak sold its Imaging business to Onex Inc., who then created a subsidiary for the Radiology Imaging Services division called Carestream Health. With this change, Dave moved to the position of Director of Radiology Information Systems Research and Development. Dave managed his 50+ member team in Summerside as well as smaller groups in Rochester, NY; Bottrop, Germany; and Shanghai, China. The result of this work was recognized locally, nationally and internationally. Locally, the e-health solution was chosen as the “Product or Service of the Year” at the 2009 annual ITAP awards. On the national front, several articles were written by sector periodicals including Canadian Healthcare Technology. Internationally, the Carestream Radiology Information System was recognized in 2008 by Frost and Sullivan as the RIS with the fastest global market penetration.

In May 2010, Dave left Carestream and began discussions to solidify a RadNet presence on Prince Edward Island. Dave showcased the economic, technology and labour force advantages for doing business on the Island and RMIS Imaging Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of RadNet, was created in August 2010. This group started with a team of eight people and has now grown to 13 employees, all based in Summerside.