Digital Health Canada’s annual Ahead of the Curve – Vancouver conference brings together professionals and organizations from across British Columbia’s provincial digital health landscape to discuss how the strategic use of digital tools can improve both the patient and healthcare provider experience across care settings in B.C.

The 2023 conference (Thursday, February 9) will open with B.C.’s leaders in digital health highlighting recent digital health advancements across the province’s health system and discussing how a digital health strategy will guide B.C.’s effort to create a digitally enabled health system trusted by all who use it.

“Digital Health Canada actively supports regional strategy alignment and implementation by bringing digital health professionals together to share their work and advance the use of digital health to improve healthcare for all Canadians,” said Mark Casselman, Digital Health Canada CEO. “This conference provides a space for B.C. to demonstrate digital health leadership and inspire the development of innovative healthcare strategies across Canada.”

The conference’s emphasis on the value of collaboration and strategizing to improve the delivery of health services reflects B.C.’s commitment to transform the health system so care is there for everyone when and where they need it. Digitization of health services is critical to this transformation, enabling new ways to deliver health services securely, efficiently, and effectively. To achieve this, B.C. has collaborated with stakeholders across the sector to develop a Digital Health Strategy, which envisions a connected, trusted health system, which empowers all users and addresses the needs of all people in B.C.

“By promoting cross-sectoral collaboration on digital health strategy development and implementation, these events foster innovation-focused partnerships between government, private sector, and academia,” added Mark. “Our members are committed to working together to share best practices and knowledge, improve access to care, enhance patient and provider experiences, and contribute to health system equity and efficiency through digital health.”

Conference attendees will also learn about:

• how digital health weaves together the health care provider and patient experience across care settings including in Indigenous communities;
• the importance of harnessing innovation to optimize service delivery;
• action being taken to better support, recruit and retain health care workers; and
• how a digital health strategy can help to establish a connected system that enables the seamless and secure sharing and exchange of provincial health data between all users across the care continuum.

The day will close with a panel discussion on implementation featuring participants from Provincial Health Services Authority, Fraser Health Authority, Northern Health, and Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.