Former Liberal cabinet minister Jane Philpott has been appointed as a special adviser to Ontario's PC government to assist in the development of the new health data platform that will better analyze information on COVID-19 in the province.

Philpott, a physician who resigned from her cabinet post in the Trudeau government following the SNC Lavalin scandal, announced on Twitter that she has accepted a position as advisor to Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott and Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy.

Philpott will be helping to develop and implement the province's new health data system and will chair the Joint Ministers’ Roundtable, which includes public health, privacy, research and clinical experts.

“This new health data platform is an integral part of the province's response to the virus. It will help increase detection of COVID-19, to discover the risk factors for vulnerable populations, and predict when and where outbreaks may happen,” Philpott said in a video posted on social media.

“It will help to evaluate how preventative and treatment measures are working and identify where to allocate equipment and other resources.”

In April, Philpott made headlines after she stepped in to help out at a Markham facility for vulnerable adults in the midst of a COVID-19 outbreak.

Philpott showed up at Participation House in full hospital scrubs after reports that two-thirds of the staff members at the facility, which houses dozens of residents with physical and developmental disabilities, walked off the job.

“Whether on the front lines of health care or in medical education or in this new role as special adviser, I'm honoured to be part of Ontario's fight against COVID-19,” Philpott said.