Message from the CEO

5 years ago I took a critical look at the Canadian Medical System as well as my private practice. I came to the conclusion that in spite of the fact that we have excellent and dedicated doctors, there appeared to be a widespread problem of access to medical care. Many patients were without a family physician. Others waited long periods to see a specialist forcing them to seek help via the emergence department at a local hospital.

In my own office I realized that my secretary spent an inordinate amount of time on the phone booking appointments and confirming the appointments for the next day. I also realized that if an appointment was cancelled at the last minute, I had no way of filling the space with another patient without having my secretary call a number of patients.

I set about to address these problems by developing a web-based appointment system for physicians. Given the fact that one can book an airline ticket, a hotel and a restaurant, I saw no reason why a patient could not book an appointment with a doctor in the same manner. My sole goal in developing DoctorDirect was to improve access to medical care, which became our motto. Not only can patients book an appointment with their physician, they can also find a doctor who is taking on new patients in a timely manner. New physicians can begin registering patients even before their graduation. We are currently looking to broadening our horizons by offering this service to nurses, dentists, physiotherapists, psychologists as well as other para medical professions.

Brian Morris M.D., CEO DoctorDirect

Board of Directors

The Company counts influential and well known health community and business leaders amongst its founders, shareholders and directors. They include:

Dr. Shata Al-Musawi

Dr Al-Musawi graduated in general medicine from the 2nd Moscow State Pirogov Medical Institute. She then specialised in rheumatology at the Institute of Rheumatology Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, where she received her master’s degree. Dr Al-Musawi also holds a doctorate in medicine, awarded by Council of Institute of Rheumatology, USSR Academy of medical sciences.

Dr. Francesco Bellini

Dr. Bellini received his bachelor of science degree from Loyola College (now Concordia University) and his doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of New Brunswick. He is the author or co-author of some 20 patents and has published numerous articles and papers based on his research. Dr. Bellini has vast experience with many successful companies in the health sciences industry. He is Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO of Bellus Health, a company focusing on the research, development and commercialization of products in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical fields. Dr Bellini is also Chairman of the Board of Picchio Pharma and ViroChem Pharma. In the past, he was President and CEO of BioChem Pharma, a bio-pharmaceutical company developing therapies for infectious diseases.

M. Alain Gourd

Lawyer and holder of a Master’s of Arts (Philosophy), Alain Gourd has distinguished himself through his initiative in the communications industry. He has been chairman of the Board and CEO for Bell ExpressVu, and vice-president of corporate affaires for Bell Globemedia. He has also served in the Federal Government of Canada as the Deputy Minister of Communications and Associate Secretary to the Cabinet. Besides his passion for communications, Alain Gourd has always put great emphasis on higher education. The Université du Québec en Outaouais has granted him a Doctorate Honoris Causa. Amongst his volunteer activities, Alain Gourd is immediate past Chair of the Canadian Colorectal Cancer Association. He was also Chair of the 2008 Canadian Health Care Forum.

Dr. Kamal Mekhael

Dr. Mekhael is a Financial Planner and chartered broker. He is president of his own financial services firm. Prior to his business career, Dr. Mekhael obtained his Ph.D. in pharmacy from the Bio-pharmaceutical Centre in Geneva University, Switzerland followed by Post Doctoral work and teaching experience at both McGill University and Concordia University . Dr. Mekhael possesses extensive experience in the bio-pharmaceutical industry as well as the financial services domain.

Dr. Brian Morris

Brian Morris graduated from McGill with a B.Sc. in 1970 and a Docteur en Médecine from Université de Reims, France in 1977. Following an internship at Memorial University, he did a residency in urology at McGill. He was a lecturer at McGill, and does clinical teaching at St. Mary's Hospital. He was a consultant urologist at Queen Elizabeth Hospital until its closing and currently operates at St. Mary's Hospital. Dr. Morris also has an office practice at the Westmount Medical Building. He has participated in numerous research projects and is a member of the following associations: CMA, QMA, CUA, QUA, EUA, CMPA, FMSQ, CUOG, and SIU. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons Canada and a consultant at the CSST and McCarthy Tétreault.