Contact Information

Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Dr. Shawn Marshall, Chief of Physiatry
505 Smyth Rd, Room 1104
Ottawa, Ontario
K1H 8M2
Tel.: 613-737-7350 ext. 75306
smarshall@toh.on.ca

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency Program
Dr. Deanna Quon, Program Director
505 Smyth Rd, Room 1200B
Ottawa, Ontario
K1H 8M2
Tel.: 613-737-7350 ext. 75598
dquon@toh.ca

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Dr. Jeff Blackmer, MD, MHSC, FRCPC

Jeff Blackmer
Vice President, International Health at the Canadian Medical Association
Email: Jeff.Blackmer@cma.ca

Dr. Jeff Blackmer completed his medical training at Western University and his residency program in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Saskatchewan. He also holds a Master’s degree in medical ethics from the University of Toronto and is currently pursuing his Global Executive MBA at INSEAD University in France.

Dr. Blackmer currently serves as the Vice President, International Health at the Canadian Medical Association. Prior to this, he served as the CMA’s Vice President of Medical Professionalism and as the Executive Director of the CMA’s Office of Ethics.

At the CMA, Dr. Blackmer has led the work of the association on issues such as end of life care and assisted dying, opioid prescribing, legalization of marijuana and global health. He regularly serves as a spokesperson on these and other issues and appears frequently in national and international media.

He contributes to international health by serving as an expert advisor to the World Health Organization, the International Committee of the Red Cross, numerous national medical associations as well as other international organizations. He chairs various international working groups, and is a frequent invited speaker at national and international meetings and conferences.

He has published and lectured extensively both nationally and internationally, and has authored numerous national and global health policies. He has been an invited lecturer and visiting professor at institutions such as Harvard University, the University of Notre Dame, the United States National Naval Medical Centre and the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. He has received several honors and awards, including the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for his contributions to the fields of medical ethics and international medicine, the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics 20th Anniversary Distinguished Alumnus Award and Western University’s Alumni of Distinction Professional Achievement in Medicine Award.

Dr. Blackmer also continues to teach at the University of Ottawa, giving numerous lectures every year at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Positions

  • Vice President, International Health at the Canadian Medical Association
  • Clinical Adjunct Professor, University of Ottawa
  • Medical Ethics Education Advisor, University of Ottawa
  • Medical Staff, The Rehabilitation Centre
  • Ethics Advisor and Consultant, World Medical Association/World Health Organization/International Committee of the Red Cross

Clinical Areas

  • Spinal cord injury
  • Multiple sclerosis

Research Interests

  • Medical ethics
  • Spinal cord injury

Education

Undergraduate

BSc, University of New Brunswick

Medical school

MD, University of Western Ontario

Postgraduate

FRCPC, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, University of Saskatchewan

Other

Masters in Medical Ethics, University of Toronto

Selected Publications

1) Peer Reviewed Publications

Medical Ethics

  1. Parsa-Parsi R, Blackmer J, Ehni H-J, Janbu T, Kloiber O, Wiesing U. Reconsidering the Declaration of Helsinki. The Lancet 2013; 382 (9900): 1246-1247.
  2. Holbrook A, Lexchin L, Willison D, Pullenayegum E, Troyan S, Campbell C, Marlow B, Weijer C, Blackmer J, Brazil K.  What Do Canadians Think About Physician-Pharmaceutical Industry Interactions? Health Policy 2013 May 24.
  3. Blackmer J. Health Care Provider Obligations in Caring for Patients with Tuberculosis. The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease 2011; 15, Suppl 2: S14-S18.
  4. Holbrook A, Lexchin L, Willison D, Pullenayegum E, Troyan S, Campbell C, Marlow B, Weijer C, Blackmer J, Brazil K. Public Opinions on Physician-Pharmaceutical Industry Interactions: A Canadian Survey. J Popul Ther Clin Pharmacol 2011; 18 (2): e185.
  5. Blackmer J. The ethical obligations of researchers in protecting the rights of human research subjects. World Medical and Health Policy Journal 2010: 2 (3): Article 6.
  6. Blackmer J. Current global perspectives on medical professionalism. World Medical and Health Policy Journal 2009; 1 (1), Article 2.
  7. Blackmer J. Ethics and professionalism at the Canadian Medical Association. World Medical Journal 2008; 54 (3): 110-111.
  8. Blackmer J. Professionalism and the medical association. World Medical Journal 2007; 53 (3):58-74.
  9. Finestone H, Blackmer J. Refusal to Eat, Capacity and Ethics in Stroke Patients: A Case Series. Accepted for publication in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, publication pending.
  10. Blackmer J. Clarification of the CMA’s position concerning induced abortion. CMAJ 2007: 176: 1310.

Spinal Cord Injury

  1. Bloom LF, Lapierre N, Wilson K, Curran DA, Deforge D, Blackmer J. Concordance in goal setting between patients with multiple sclerosis and their rehabilitation team. American J of Phys Med and Rehabilitation 2006; 85: 807-813.
  2. Lapierre N, Coutu-Wakulczyk G, Blackmer J, Dehoux E. Autonomic Dysreflexia and Telehealth. Canadian Nurse 2006; 102: 20-25.
  3. Deforge D, Blackmer J, Garrity C, Tazdi F, Cronin V, Barrowman N, Fang M, Mamaladze V, Zhang L, Sampson M and Moher D. Male erectile dysfunction following spinal cord injury: A systematic review. Spinal Cord 2006; 44: 465-73.
  4. Deforge D, Blackmer J, Garrity C, Tazdi F, Cronin V, Barrowman N, Fang M, Mamaladze V, Zhang L, Sampson M and Moher D. Fertility following spinal cord injury: A systematic review. Spinal Cord 2005; 43: 693-703.

Other

  1. Blackmer J, Jefromova L. The use of alternative therapies in the Saskatchewan stroke rehabilitation population. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2002; 2:1-6.
  2. Blackmer J, Vellet D, Zochodne D. Isolated radial nerve palsy associated with fracture of the triceps muscle. Can Assoc Radiol J 2001; 52: 322-324
  3. Blackmer J, Marshall SC. A comparison of traumatic brain injury in the Saskatchewan Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations. Brain Injury 1999; 13: 627-635

2) Non-peer reviewed publications

  1. Blackmer J. The Canadian Medical Association's perspective on conflict of interest. Gravitas 2010; 43:12.
  2. Blackmer J. The right to drive. Can Med Assoc J 2010; 184: 409.
  3. Blackmer J. A feeding tube and a lawsuit. Can Med Assoc J 2009; 180: 1077.
  4. Blackmer J. CMA refines its international role. Can Med Assoc J 2008; 179: 857.
  5. Blackmer J. End of life decisions. Can Med Assoc J 2008; 174: 517.
  6. Blackmer J. Therapeutic abortion and patient referral. Can Med Assoc J 2007; 176: 1545.
  7. Blackmer J. Clinical priority setting. Can Med Assoc J 2007: 176: 1917.
  8. Blackmer J. Confidentiality and researchers. Can Med Assoc J 2007; 177: 109.
  9. Blackmer J. Physician assisted suicide. Can Med Assoc J 2006; 175: 1020.
  10. Blackmer J. Choosing patients. Can Med Assoc J 2006; 175: 545.

3) Published Abstracts

Spinal cord injury

  1. Cronin V, Davis C, Blackmer J, Perugini M. Adjusting to new circumstances: Coping with a spinal cord injury. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Paraplegia Society, Las Vegas, September 2006
  2. Deforge D, Blackmer J. Male Sexuality Following Spinal Cord Injury. A Systematic Review. Proceedings of the XVII World Congress of Sexology, Montreal, July 2005.
  3. Al Feeli A, Blackmer J. Referral patterns to a multiple sclerosis out patient clinics. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Ottawa, June 2005.

4) Book Chapters

  1. Hsieh J, Wolfe D, Connolly S, Townson A, Curt A, Blackmer J, Sequeira K, Aubut J. Spasticity after spinal cord injury: An evidence-based review of current interventions. In: Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation. St. Louis, 2007.
  2. Hsieh J, Wolfe D, Connolly S, Townson A, Curt A, Blackmer J, Sequeira K, Aubut J. Spasticity following spinal cord injury. In: Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Evidence, eds. Eng J, Teasell et al. Vancouver 2006.

Awards

  1. Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for contributions to clinical medicine, disability advocacy, medical ethics and international medicine, October 2012.
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Last updated: 2019.05.16