The Digital Health Canada/ANHIX Calgary Winter Conference (Partnering for Health Care Innovation) on February 4, 2020 marked the 8th collaboration between Digital Health Canada and ANHIX (Alberta Network for Health Information eXchange) to deliver an event for Alberta digital health professionals. The one-day conference attracts leaders, thinkers, senior executives, and individuals within the health space from Calgary and the surrounding area.
Program highlights from the Calgary event included a panel on IT Health Innovation with panelists Glen Shortt, Executive Director, IT Centres of Expertise, Alberta Health Services; Ryan Magnussen, Connect Care Patient Advisor, Alberta Health Services; and Tom Rich, Department of Emergency Medicine Associate Chief Medical Information Officer, Alberta Health Services, Calgary Zone Clinical Associate Professor, University of Calgary. Moderator was Sherry Nicholaichuk, Director, IT Integration Services, Alberta Health Services.
“Today, attendees enjoyed a high-quality day of networking and learning in Calgary,” said Mark Casselman, CEO, Digital Health Canada. “The speakers and panels brought forward diverse perspectives – from enterprise to entrepreneur to patient; from clinical to digital to operational; and from rural to urban to remote. Throughout the day there were many heads nodding in agreement with panel key messages – and many business ideas exchanged during networking breaks.”
An inspirational keynote was delivered by Teri Price, Co-Founder, Greg’s Wings Projects, on Innovation and Impact in Healthcare, and a panel of StartUp CEO’s included Greg Ogrodnick, CEO, Circle Cardiovascular Imaging; Breanne Everett, CEO & President, Orpyx Medical; Pierre Lemire, CEO, Kent Imaging; Paul Cataford, CEO, Zephyr Sleep Technologies; Rohit Joshi, CEO & Co-Founder, Brightsquid. Moderator: Peter Smith, President & CEO, Strata Health Solutions. The day ended with an inspirational talk from Dr. Ewan Affleck, Senior Medical Advisor – Health Informatics, College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta.
“… one of the best ANHIX/Digital Health Canada conferences I have attended. Liked the variety of topics, really enjoyed Dr. Affleck’s take and the Gregs Wings talk.”
Two days later, Digital Health Canada landed in Vancouver for the 3rd annual Ahead of the Curve Conference (2020: Time to Mainstream Digital Health) on February 6, 2020. The day opened with a panel discussing Digital Health Strategies Across Canada, featuring Corrie Barclay, Assistant Deputy Minister, Health Sector IMIT Division, BC Ministry of Health; Kim Wieringa, Assistant Deputy Minister, Health Information Systems, Alberta Health; Gillian Sweeney, VP, Clinical Information Programs and Quality, NLCHI. Next up: a panel discussion on CIS Implementation: Cerner, Epic and Beyond – The Canadian Experience with Karla Avery, eCritical Alberta Operations Manager, Alberta Health Services; Mary Sanagan, Partner and Co-Lead, National Clinical Information System Practice, Deloitte; Shaina Reid, Portfolio Director, CST Implementation at Provincial Health Services Authority. The Moderator was Yoel Robens-Paradise, Vice President-British Columbia, Gevity Consulting Inc.
A Presentation and Panel Discussion on Patient Access to Information and Patient Portal Approaches in Ontario, Alberta and BC was followed by an Innovation Presentation: Using AI to Address the Scheduling Demands of a Multi-generational Workforce from Tom Ross, Co-founder and CEO, Andgo. A Panel Discussion on Virtual Care and the Focus on Mental Health featured Kathy Steegstra, Senior Provincial Executive Director, Virtual Health & Trauma Services BC, Provincial Health Services Authority; Jonathan Choy, Provincial Medical Director, Virtual Health, AHS; Lynn Pelletier, VP Mental Health and Substance Use Services, Provincial Health Services Authority (Moderator: Gillian Sweeney, VP, Clinical Information Programs and Quality, NLCHI), and the day closed with a demo and keynote from Dr. Teri Fisher, Clinical Assistant Professor, Sport & Exercise Physician, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia.
Learn more about Digital Health Canada Regional Events here.
