Canada's mydoctor.ca Health Portal Launch Honoured With Global Communication Award

TORONTO, June 8 - Cohn & Wolfe Toronto and the Canadian Medical Association's Practice Solutions team have been honoured with the prestigious 2009 Gold Quill Award for Excellence in Communication, presented by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) for the launch of mydoctor.ca Health Portal in the category, MEDIA RELATIONS.

"We are delighted by this international recognition of the creative and strategic thinking that backed up the launch of mydoctor.ca Health Portal. Cohn & Wolfe impressed us with their commitment to partnership and collaboration with our team and the results speak for themselves," said Larry
Mohr, Vice President, Corporate Development for the Canadian Medical Association Holdings. "The outstanding national visibility garnered by the launch of the mydoctor.ca Health Portal - the first of its kind in Canada developed by the Practice Solutions, a Canadian Medical Association company-provided exactly the momentum we were looking for in launching into this new and important market for us."

"Cohn & Wolfe works with clients to identify creative and strategic communications initiatives that will influence audiences' opinions and behaviours while supporting the organization's business objectives. Being recognized by our peers as having succeeded in that role is a great honour for us and for our clients," says Peter Block, Managing Partner, Cohn & Wolfe/Toronto. Peter added, "This Gold Quill Award of Excellence also honours the Canadian Medical Association's communications and marketing team on this project. The results are directly related to the high quality of collaboration and trust between our two teams."

For more than 36 years, IABC's annual Gold Quill Awards program has honored excellence in business communication, offering professional communicators an opportunity to have their work evaluated by expert judges and showcased among peers. The winners represent the best in organizational communication and their work plans serve as best practices for professional communicators.

This year's competition received nearly 1,000 entries from 26 countries. The winners were honored at the Gold Quill Awards gala on 8 June at IABC's World Conference in San Francisco.

The Gold Quill entries went through two rigorous rounds of judging by a team of senior communicators from around the world. The final selection was made by the Gold Quill Blue Ribbon Panel of judges. To win this Gold Quill Award, Cohn & Wolfe Canada competed with peers from 26 countries including: Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, U.K. and the U.S.
 
About Cohn & Wolfe Canada
Cohn & Wolfe Canada is a national public relations firm with offices in Toronto, Montreal and Calgary, offering a full range of communication services to corporate, government and not-for-profit clients. Cohn &Wolfe is a wholly-owned subsidiary of RES PUBLICA Consulting Group and affiliated internationally with the Cohn & Wolfe network, providing access to offices and expertise throughout North America, Europe and Asia.
 
About Practice Solutions
Practice Solutions, a Canadian Medical Association Holdings company, is the leading provider of end-to-end technology and practice management solutions for Canadian physicians. Product offerings include the popular PS Suite(TM) software bundle that manages billing, scheduling and electronic medical records for a physician's practice. Practice Solutions also offer consulting services, educational seminars, billing services, lease financing, web portals for physicians, such as cma.ca, Asklepios social networking site and the mydoctor.ca health portal, and the publisher of physician and patient-oriented magazines. Practice Solutions is headquartered in Ottawa with offices and professionals across the country.
 
About IABC
The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) is a global network of communication professionals committed to improving organizational effectiveness through strategic communication. Established in 1970, IABC serves more than 16,000 members in 80 countries. For more information, visit www.iabc.com.
 
For further information: Media Contact: Peter Block, (416) 924-5700 x4088, E-mail: peter.block@cohnwolfe.ca