2023 Spring Symposium

During this session, CHIEF Executive Forum members will share their respective journeys for building an innovation framework within their organization. Come prepared to share your experience in building capacity for innovation and how you’ve partnered with the broader ecosystem. Learn from others what stage of innovation maturity they have achieved and how they got there. What assessments were used? What criteria were used to rate and prioritize opportunities?

Dale Vandenborre, Lead Innovation Strategist, CAN Health, Horizon Health
Rowena Rizotti, Vice-President, Healthcare & Innovation, Lark Group
Alan Forster, Executive Vice President, Chief Innovation and Quality Officer at The Ottawa Hospital
Moderator: Megan Stowe, Deputy Chief Information Officer Deputy Chief Information Officer, Provincial Health Services Authority

Roundtables are facilitated discussions around a specific topic where thought leaders and decision makers from across the country share experiences and provide insight, perspective, and knowledge in a unique interactive setting. Participants will engage in discussion on their chosen topic, working towards the goal of a shared objective, recommendation, or 2-3 actionable takeaways.

Today’s roundtable sessions will consist of 55 minutes of discussion followed by 20 minutes of knowledge sharing, during which each table will report their top takeaways to the plenary group. Please read the descriptions below—attendees will be asked to pre-select which roundtable discussion they would like to join.

Roundtable 1: Culture of collaboration and unconventional partnerships
Where do CHIEF Executive Forum members see more opportunities to increase collaboration for better results? By joining resources and expertise through a PPP, public and private stakeholders can reduce costs/burden, share risk, as well as gains, and help each other capture greater value. The efficiency and success of PPPs is dependent on strong governance and the integral role of a neutral innovation-enabler at the interface between public and private stakeholders.

Niraj Dalmia, Partner at Deloitte Canada, Adjunct Lecturer, Healthcare & Life Sciences AI Leader
Monika Kumari, Executive Director, Digital Standards and Credentials, Health Canada

Roundtable 2: Using data to address healthcare delivery inequalities
Healthcare data and analytics can drive innovation and improvements in the quality and efficiency of healthcare services, leading to better and more equitable patient outcomes. However, these can only be realized when data is high-quality, comprehensive, and integrated (see Pan-Canadian Health Data Strategy). Without this, lack of reliability, bias, and health data gaps will inhibit the promotion of equity and care delivery. During this roundtable, we will explore the role of data and analytics through use cases that demonstrate the potential of data-driven solutions to improve health care quality, equity, and outcomes.

Geoff Hynes, Manager, Canadian Population Health Initiative, CIHI

Roundtable 3: Reframing data privacy – from custodianship to stewardship
For too long, privacy constraints have been seen as barriers to data sharing and have prevented the realization of the benefits that come from shared data. What steps can be taken to reframe this view and complement the practices of data custodianship that protect information with concepts of data stewardship? Data must be kept safe, but how can we move forward with tools and governance that enable the use and sharing of data in ways that bring value to all participants in the health system?

Abigail Carter-Langford, Executive Vice President of Governance, Risk & Compliance and Chief Privacy & Security Officer, Canada Health Infoway

Roundtable 4: Shared pan-Canadian Interoperability Roadmap
In this session, Canada Health Infoway will provide a brief overview of the draft Canadian Interoperability Roadmap and an update on the progress to date, and discuss the next phase of work. One of the priority areas being pursued as part of the Roadmap is improving data portability and preventing data blocking, with an initial focus on data stored in electronic medical records used by GPs and specialists in their offices. CHIEF Executive Forum members can share their insights on obstacles that have prevented progress to date, how these can be overcome, and how best to mobilize the clinical and vendor community.

Abhi Kalra, Vice-president, Canada Health Infoway

How are publicly funded healthcare delivery organizations moving forward with the modernization, innovation, and transformation required in their digital health strategies? Providers across the nation suffered significant operating margin losses as they battled inflation and a severe workforce shortage. Moreover, they are often restricted to older funding models that no longer translate into forecasted costs for moving to cloud, taking advantage of increased cybersecurity, or implementing analytics of patient data. What actions can healthcare providers take to achieve their goals to modernize their digital ecosystems given OPEX constraints? This panel will discuss topics such healthcare budgeting implications of SaaS arrangements, legal contracting considerations, health system funding policies that may be at play.

Bring your organization’s Chief Financial Officer and join us for a thought-provoking discussion on how healthcare CIOs and CFOs can effectively navigate the funding and investment landscape to support innovation and transformation, while also maintaining financial sustainability and stability.

Fernando Pica, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, Strategic Business Services, VCH
Moderator: Elizabeth Keller, Business Development Executive, Public Sector, Canada (Healthcare), AWS
Additional panelists coming soon!

A strategic approach to healthcare digital transformation is crucial to addressing current Canadian healthcare challenges. This session will bring together representatives from each province and territory to update CHIEF Executive Forum members on their respective digital transformation strategies, strategic priorities, and plans. This session aims to increase intra-provincial collaboration, align digital health strategies nationally, and leverage each region’s efforts in support of the others.

As healthcare organizations continue to digitize their operations and workflows, healthcare professionals are experiencing an increasing burden of documentation and administrative tasks, leading to burnout and decreased job satisfaction. In this panel discussion, we will explore the different strategies and approaches healthcare organizations are using to manage change and mitigate the negative impact of the digital and administrative burden on health care providers and staff from a community medicine, hospital, and health organization perspective.

Join us for an engaging discussion on how healthcare organizations can successfully manage change in the digital age and promote a culture of well-being and resilience among their staff.

Chandi Chandrasena, Chief Medical Officer, OntarioMD
Tania Tajirian, Chief Medical Information Officer and Chief of Hospital Medicine, CAMH
Nancy MacCready-Williams, CEO, Doctors Nova Scotia
Moderator: Scott MacMillan, President, Cercle Group