Jason Fischer

• Division Head, Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Paediatrics
• Staff Physician, Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Paediatrics
• Co-Chair, Medical Advisory Committee
• Member, Board of Trustees
• Member, Board Quality & Safety Committee
• Member, Senior Management Committee

• Project Investigator, Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children

• Associate Professor of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto

Dr. Jason Fischer is an academic emergency physician whose scholarship sits at the intersection of pediatric acute care, futurism, and health-systems innovation.

He completed a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Biomedical Science and a Master of Science in Nutritional Science at the University of Guelph before earning his medical degree at St. George’s University School of Medicine, and trained in Emergency Medicine and Pediatric Emergency Medicine at the Alameda County Medical Center and Children’s Hospital and Research Center in Oakland, California.

Fischer joined SickKids in 2011 and founded the Emergency Department’s Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Program and Fellowship, and later established the international P2 Network, the first global collaborative dedicated to POCUS in pediatric emergency care. He has completed executive education at Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Rotman School of Management, the Institute for the Future, and Singularity University, and is a recipient of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians’ Dr. Marilyn Li Pediatric EM Leadership Award.

Research

Dr. Fischer’s scholarly work focuses on how emerging technologies can improve the diagnosis and care of children in the emergency department. He helped pioneer point-of-care ultrasound – a portable, real-time imaging tool used at the bedside – in pediatric emergency medicine, contributing to the policy statements that established the practice as a standard of care across North America.

More recently, Fischer’s research has turned toward digital and virtual care, including the use of machine learning to anticipate patient needs and expedite emergency care for children. He also studies the longer-term forces shaping emergency medicine, drawing on foresight and futures methodology to examine how climate change, artificial intelligence, and the responsible design of digital systems will reshape how children access urgent care. His work aims to anticipate change in medicine rather than simply respond to it.

Education and experience

• 2017–Present: Division Head, Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
• 2011–Present: Staff Physician, Division of Emergency Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
• 2011–2016: Founder and Director, Emergency Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Program and Fellowship, Division of Emergency Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
• 2009–2010: Fellowship, Emergency Medicine Ultrasound, Alameda County Medical Center, Oakland, CA, USA
• 2009: Board Certification, Pediatric Emergency Medicine, American Board of Emergency Medicine, East Lansing, MI, USA
• 2008: Board Certification, Emergency Medicine, American Board of Emergency Medicine, East Lansing, MI, USA
• 2007–2010: Fellowship, Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland, Oakland, CA, USA
• 2003–2007: Residency, Emergency Medicine, Alameda County Medical Center, Oakland, CA, USA

Achievements

• 2024: Department of Paediatrics Award for Outstanding Clinical Contribution, Division of Emergency Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
• 2018: P2 Network Founder's Award, P2 Network: International Pediatric Emergency Medicine Point-of-Care Ultrasound Collaborative
• 2017: Dr. Marilyn Li Pediatric EM Leadership Award, Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, Ottawa, ON, Canada
• 2015: Continuing Education Teaching Award, Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
• 2013: POWER Teacher Award, Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
• 2012: Teacher of the Year Award, FRCPC Emergency Medicine Residency Program, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
• 2008: Outstanding Fellow of the Year, Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland, Oakland, CA, USA

1. Singh D, Nagaraj S, Mashouri P, Fischer JW, et al. Assessment of Machine Learning-Based Medical Directives to Expedite Care in Pediatric Emergency Medicine. JAMA Network Open. 2022;5(3):e222599.
2. Abo AM, Alade KH, Rempell RG, Kessler D, Fischer JW, Lewiss RE, Raio CC, Marin JR. Credentialing Pediatric Emergency Medicine Faculty in Point-of-Care Ultrasound: Expert Guidelines. Pediatric Emergency Care. 2021;37(12):e1687–e1694.
3. Rosenfield D, McLean L, Clemens J, Fischer JW. Opening the Digital Front Door: Digital Offerings in a Pediatric Emergency Department. Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2021;23(6):857.
4. Fischer JW. Climate change and Canadian emergency medicine: Exploring alternative futures. Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2020;22(6):752–753.
5. Kessler D, Ng L, Tessaro M, Fischer JW. Precision medicine with point-of-care ultrasound: The future of personalized pediatric emergency care. Pediatric Emergency Care. 2017;33(3):206–209.

See full list of Dr. Jason Fischer's publications