Topic: A health data approach for enabling integrated care. Why Does Integrated Care Matter? Our healthcare system is increasingly complex, with patients navigating various providers and services. Integrated care breaks down silos, fostering collaboration and a more comprehensive view of a patient’s health.

Potential speakers/panellists (depending on the format chosen):

• Jodeme Goldhar, Vice-Chair, International Foundation for Integrated Care & co-founder IFIC Canada
  For additional reference, this YouTube clip shows Jodeme opening the IFIC conference and passionately introducing the topic. While the format proposed is slightly different to this clip, you will note that the speakers talk about the challenges of unstructured, unlinkable data (which we know Canada faces too, and what drives our interoperability agenda).

Moderator sets the stage. What is integrated care. Why does it matter? What is the opportunity?
Panellists each give a 2 – 3 minute overview of their perspective, followed by a moderated Q&A. This session will delve into the transformative potential of health data in enabling integrated care. By bringing together experts from diverse backgrounds, including public health, healthcare delivery, and policy, the panel will explore:

• The Vision: How health data can empower person-centered care and data stewardship.
• The Impact: The role of data in informing evidence-based health policies and decision-making.
• The Reality: Real-world examples of integrated care programs leveraging digital health records.
• The Future: International perspectives on the challenges and opportunities in the journey toward integrated care.

This panel will provide valuable insights for healthcare providers, policymakers, and researchers, inspiring a data-driven approach to improving patient outcomes and system efficiency.

Speaker options could include any of the following (or alternates):

• Walter Wodchis, co-founder of IFIC Canada – Learning from global peers: International perspectives will be shared, highlighting successes and challenges on the path to integrated care using health data that speaks to inspiration from International counterparts and specific activities underway in Canada.
• PHAC speaker TBD – Empowering person-centered care: Panelists from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) will discuss progressing the Health Data Charter, aligning with the vision of “person-centered care” and “data stewardship” in Canada.
• CIHI speaker TBD – Informing policy: We’ll hear from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) on the crucial role of health data in driving evidence-based health policy decisions.
• UHN speaker TBD – Real-world examples: Representatives from University Health Network (UHN) will share their inspiring Integrated Care Program, showcasing the powerful role of the digital care record – see their program details HERE.
• Carolyn Steele-Gray – Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Implementing Digital Health Innovation

Topic: Narrowing the Gap: Advancing Health Equity through Pan-Canadian Data Standards”? This panel would discuss the importance of pan-Canadian content standards to advance health equity, highlighting the interoperability Health Data Content framework, and include a clinician, health system adopter (Nova Scotia) and local vendor, a researcher discussing how they are implementing common data standards on the equity side that help advance equity, public health, etc.
Panellists:

• Kwame MacKenzie, CEO of Wellesley Institute (Health System Leader)
• Dr. Andrew Pinto, St. Michael’s Hospital, Founder of the Upstream Lab (Researcher)
• Dr. Ashley Miller, Chief Medical Information Officer, Nova Scotia Health and IWK Health
• Mustimuhw Information Solutions speaker TBD, Indigenous vendor from BC

Main topics: Data and Information – Interoperability and Standards or Health Information Exchange
Title: Driving forward: connected care in Canada through collaboration (between Infoway, Health Canada and CIHI).
Summary: Across Canada, there is unprecedented collaboration among federal, provincial, and territorial governments, industry, healthcare providers, researchers, hospitals, health authorities, patients, and Indigenous peoples. Together, they are working together to enable connected care through health data and digital tools.

Join our panel session to learn about Canada’s strategy for accelerating interoperability. We will explore the strategic goals of the Pan-Canadian Interoperability Roadmap and the recently introduced Bill C-72, the Connecting Care for Canadians Act. These initiatives aim to provide secure and timely access to health information for patients and providers, using a common patient summary and connected digital tools for e-referral and e-consultation.

Speakers will highlight key initiatives and success stories from Canada’s interoperability efforts. After a brief introduction from Health Canada, panellists from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), Canada Health Infoway (Infoway), and British Columbia’s Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) will discuss their roles in advancing interoperability. They will share their experiences overcoming barriers and outline the next steps for Canada’s connected care journey.

Draft Session Flow: 
Intro: Elizabeth Toller (Health Canada) to provide 5-min overview to set the stage – overview of Canada’s priorities, main buckets of funding/work to advance priorities, Roadmap as guiding plan for connected care. (5 mins)
Roundtable overview: each panellist takes 3-4 minutes to introduce themselves, introduce their organization, and provide a high-level overview of their role in supporting connected care/interoperability (9-12 mins)
Moderated Discussion: guided discussion – open floor but the first respondent is tagged for each question (30 mins)

• Question 1: What are the top initiatives your organization is leading to drive progress on the pan-Canadian connected care vision (Abhi Kalra/Infoway answers first)
• Question 2: What strategies are being deployed to advance adoption of the Roadmap and connected care vision? How are you addressing barriers in collaboration with key partners? (BC PHSA answers first)
• Question 3: Can you highlight a recent or ongoing success story in driving progress on pan-Canadian connected care? (Ann Chapman/CIHI answers first)
• Question 4: What’s next for connected care in Canada – what are the next set of priorities, and how can we ensure that the Roadmap and connected care vision is forward-looking? (BC PHSA answers first)

Summary – Elizabeth Toller does 2 min summary to bring discussion together.
Q and A – 10 min
Proposed Speakers – max 5: 

• Elizabeth Toller (Health Canada)
• Abhi Kalra (Infoway)
• Ann Chapman (CIHI)
• TBD – BC PHSA
• TBD – Patient Partner
• TBD – Moderator

Topic: Improving Canadians’ Access to primary care and building a healthier future for Canada
Speaker: Hon. Jane Philpott, MD, Former Federal Minister of Health, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen’s University is joining OPS. Combine her past leadership of the Ontario Health Data Council with her current focus on primary care.
Speaker: Gillian Strudwick, Chief Clinical Informatics Officer and Scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and Scientific Director (interim) of the Digital Innovation Hub CAMH.

Topic: How to address marginalized communities and their access to healthcare
Speaker: Dr. Andrew Boozary (UHN). Focuses on population health and social determinants of health like food and housing.
Speaker: Tracy Mae Chambers – Indigenous/Metis artist and opioid OD prevention advocate with Metis Nation Ontario: Art installation and speaker. “Hope and Healing Canada” is a recent work currently in Kelowna. Very impactful and novel.

Topic: AI and space travel as it relates to healthcare
Speaker: Farah Alibay, Canadian aerospace engineer at NASA exploring space with robots.

Topic: Accessibility: people with impairments using healthcare
Speaker: Nicole Waldron – Mental Health Advocate and Host Victory Speaks Podcast & Show
Patient Speaker: Claire Synman (BC), Mother, wife, patient experience expert, author, speaker, advocate for access to care and authentic partnership
Speaker: TBD Accessibility Speaker

Topic: Addressing the importance of retention, attraction, and creating healthy, happy, thriving workplaces in healthcare. She also has a  topic/theme called FLIP FAILURE about resilience, change management, failing forward, in a gritty workplace culture. View a speaking reel HERE. View additional bio HERE.
Speaker: Sarah McVanel, International Recognition, Retention & Culture Expert

Topic: The Human aspect in Healthcare in meaningful ways to bring people together to address the challenges and do the implementation.
Speaker: TBD

Topic: Healthcare workforce in Canada: PT reps talking about their efforts to integrate internationally trained providers to deal with HHR issues. HR perspective is lacking, and there is a desire to invest in the right people to support e-Health. i.e. industry, clinicians, leaders, etc.
Speaker: TBD

Topic: Data sharing for the public good – the importance of Data Stewardship: understanding stewardship vs governance, overview of key principles of a Stewardship Framework for Canada, how this can help reduce harm to patients. Look at how it’s used, standards, governance, and how it’s tied to the patient journey – end-to-end approach. CHIMA is working on a data governance plan. Perhaps international, national, and provincial data perspectives would be a good panel?
Panel speakers:

• Prof. Philip Awadalla, National Scientific Director or Victoria Kirsch, National Scientific Coordinator (Researchers). One of the leaders of CanPath: – CanPath as a “Data Sharing” network is a good example of how to manage access to data for research from private industry. They are also very interested in international research collaborations and stewardship across research networks. They have thought about how do you give data for private for profit, international studies.
• Dr. Ewen Effleck, Hospitalist, Northwest Territories Health & Social Services Authority + Advisory Group -a former EAG member from the pan-Canadian Health Data Strategy, Public Health Agency of Canada + Senior Medical Advisor – Health Informatics, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (NWT, AB), is working with key groups to look at legislative and other barriers to data sharing across jurisdictions (Clinician).  He authored a recent report to be released shortly.
• Eric Sutherland: Senior Health Economist, OECD, Leader in integrated digital health ecosystems, formerly a lead on the pan-Canadian Health Data Strategy, Data Governance expert with CIHI (International expert). He will soon be publishing some excellent work on Digital Health policies internationally and is working to elevate international leading practices. He could be a great speaker, or we may be able to identify some colleagues from other countries to share their journeys (which are very relevant to ours).
• Andrea Lorette, Director of Data Governance, Health System representative, BC, Northern Health. Andrea has been a health information professional for 25 years, working in organizations across Saskatchewan and British Columbia. Previous roles: general HIM practitioner in a small hospital, a health information analyst, a manager for coding and analytics, a lead for a new centralized data request management service, and, currently, an information governance lead for a regional health authority.
• Mary-Jane Dykeman, Managing Partner at INQ Law. Focused on data governance.

Topic: BC Health Data Coalition – physician-led – Family practice data is an interesting group, perhaps them and other similar groups from across Canada, family practice or facility-based.
Speakers: Dr Lawrence Yang, BC Health Data Coalition
Speakers: Dr Cole Stanley, BC Health Data Coalition
Speakers: Dr Daisy Dulay, BC Health Data Coalition

Topic: How AI will power the future of science and medicine. Not directly related to digital health in Canada. It will give attendees a sense of what is possible with AI in health/medicine.
Speaker: Patricia Brennan, VP, Product Management, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Topic: Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare/Medicine policy development
Panellists:

• Roxana Sultan from Vector Institute
• Muhammad Mamdani from Unity for commercialization
• Dr. Ilan Lenga for AI governance and Responsible AI at Lakeridge
• Dr. Laura Rosella for an Academic viewpoint (from University of Toronto)
• Tristan Glatard for an Academic viewpoint (Concordia University and now CAMH)
• Michael Hillmer from Ministry of Health or someone from Ontario Health who is leading AI
• Josephine Yam – CEO & Co-Founder, Privacy & AI Lawyer, and AI Ethicist, Skills4Good AI
• Alyssa Lefaivre Škopac, Director of Partnerships and Market Development, Responsible AI Institute
• Lydia Sequeira, Director, Service Programs and Innovation ImplementationDirector, Service Programs and Innovation Implementation with Kids Help Phone, previously with CAMH

Topic: Zayna was recently a keynote speaker at Infoway’s All Employee Meeting in Toronto. She spoke about the role of artificial intelligence in accelerating and improving healthspans for different populations. She was funny, engaging and provided lots of food for thought! From her Linkedin profile: “I am an applied health futurist helping people and organizations make sense of forces, trends & shifts propelling healthcare to a very different future from the past decades of status quo. I do this through keynote addresses, workshops, expert advice sessions and short-term contracts with like-minded organizations that are creating the future.”
Speaker: Zayna Khayat, Ph.D.

Topic: She can speak about the responsibilities for reconciliation in healthcare. Book titled “Ally is a Verb: A Guide to Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.” She recently spoke at the BC School Trustees Association conference in Vancouver, and at the Catalyst Canada gala, the biggest organization for DEI in the country.
Speaker: Rose Lemay at the Indigenous Reconciliation Group in Ottawa. Rose has been working with a number of organizations, including Infoway, to build energy and commitment for the reconciliation journey, and she has a new book coming out in May on how to be an ally.

Topic: They are doing really important work to practically advance health data for Indigenous Canadians.
Speakers:

• TBD from First Nations Information Governance Centre. and LinkedIn
• Dr. Francis Lau, Professor Emeritus (Retired), University of Victoria. Indigenous data sovereignty, data governance, culturally-relevant consent protocols, patient co-design, interoperability of AI, capturing social determinants of health in EMRs, trans-inclusive data standards i.e., non-binary gender markers in data collection, in EMRs or other
• Mustimuhw Information Solutions EMR for BC First Nation Communities. The only Indigenous-run community electronic health record
• Dr. Marcia Anderson: Vice-Dean Indigenous Health, Social Justice and Anti-Racism, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba. An Indigenous leader and a clinician with a breadth of knowledge on health and digital data issues
• Syilx Nation (Okanagan BC) has a data governance plan – Indigenous representation in data conversations would be good.
• Brittany Deeter, Rural and Remote Care from First Nations Health Authority in BC
• Dr. Alika Lafontaine, past president, Canadian Medical Association and clinical leader who advocates for data modernization, digital health and interoperability.
• Dr. Joss Reimer current CMA president
• Dr. Evan Adams, is a Coast Salish actor and family physician from the Tla’amin First Nation near Powell River, British Columbia. Since 2014 Dr. Adams has been Chief Medical Officer with the First Nations Health Authority in British Columbia; in this capacity he works closely with government partners on population and public health issues.

Topic: Mission Possible: Closing the Gap Through Digital Transformation – An Immunization Program Journey with First Nations in AB, 2008-2025: This presentation by OKAKI will provide an overview of health inequities and eHealth challenges in the context of First Nations immunization programs.  Key milestones will be shared from 17 years of working with First Nations in Alberta, from implementing the first electronic health records on reserve, to achieving real-time electronic integration with the province, to now leveraging data to improve program outcomes.
Speakers:

• Dr. Salim Samanani is a medical specialist in public health and health informatics with 25 years of experience working with Indigenous and other marginalized populations. In 2008, he founded OKAKI, an Alberta-based health informatics social enterprise, focused on tackling key public health challenges. Dr. Samanani has managed many complex, cross-jurisdictional projects in Canada and several developing countries, in partnership with government, professional regulators, academia, and the private sector.
• Beth Woytas is an RN and Director of Products for OKAKI where she helps shape the strategic vision for OKAKI’s products and oversees all facets of supporting customer success and the user experience. She holds CIPP/C privacy certification.  Beth has 19 years of clinical and management experience with immunization and public health, including most recently, leading COVID-19 immunization efforts for Calgary’s most vulnerable populations. Beth is honoured and excited to be a part of the digital health transformation in Canada.

Topic: Accepting an imperfect virtual strategy: Virtual Care is an important topic and one that is very relevant to the work in Indigenous communities in Newfoundland and Labrador. In NL, virtual care is designed to be responsive quickly to the needs of the province. To be responsive accepting imperfections can be challenging but allows for innovation and improved patient outcomes.
Speaker: Ashley Dinn, Program Manager of Virtual Care, NL Health Services

Topic: Expansion at the Alberta Indigenous Virtual Care Clinic of Screening Patients
Speaker: Michelle Hoeber

Topic: Unlocking your true potential.
Speaker: Robin Arzon | @robinnyc (Instagram)

Topic: An inspiring and engaging exploration into the power of social connection and social health. This dynamic presentation, titled “Building a Culture of Human Connection Where People and Business Thrive,” sheds light on the critical role of social connections in enhancing both personal well-being and professional success. Discover practical strategies for nurturing deep connections that lead to happier and healthier employees who are more productive, trusting, optimistic, collaborative, and more. Pete will guide you through the many ways in which fostering strong connections can combat the disconnected world we live in today and transform everyday interactions into powerful networks of support, collaboration and competitive advantage. This session isn’t just informative—it’s designed to be fun, interactive, and full of surprises, ensuring that audience participation is both encouraged and rewarded. Pete’s passionate delivery and important message will inspire you to see the untapped potential of human connections in a new light. Let’s shape a future where promoting strong social health fuels purpose-driven organizations, inspires leadership and innovation, and is the cornerstone of communities, enhancing our collective well-being!
Speaker: Pete Bombaci, the visionary founder and CEO of GenWell, Canada’s Human Connection Movement

Topic: TBD
Speaker: Andre Picard, Health Columnist, The Globe & Mail

Topic: TBD
Speaker: Jann Arden: Whether she is captivating audiences with her heartfelt music, entertaining them with her quick wit or sharing her written word in a boldly honest voice – Arden is a Canadian original – a brilliant multi-dimensional talent.

Topic: TBD
Speaker: Cormac Russell, Managing Director, Nurture Development and author of Asset-Based Community Development-Looking Back to Look Forward. State communities need to be involved in health from Ireland

Speaker: Maria Hägglund, Researcher: Maria spoke at the McGill University Health Centre’s Patient in the Loop Symposium, she was a keynote speaker and was engaging and interesting! She has a very patient-centred approach when it comes to access to healthcare data and care.
Topic and Bio: Patient literacy as it relates to technology, data and governance. Here is her bio from the program to give you an idea of her research and topics of interest: Maria Hägglund, PhD, is an associate professor in health informatics and a senior lecturer in implementation science at the Uppsala MedTech Science & Innovation Centre, Uppsala University. During 2019/2020 she was a Keane OpenNotes Scholar and a visiting Lecturer on Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her research has focused on user-centered systems that support collaboration and patient empowerment. As a member of the DOME research consortium and PI for the international research project NORDeHEALTH, as well as several Swedish research projects, she has explored the impact of patients’ online access to their electronic health records (including notes). She was the Chair of the Swedish Medical Informatics Association (SFMI) 2020-2022, and as such represented Sweden in the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) general assembly. Maria chairs the EFMI Working Group “Citizen Health Data”.

Topic: European Health Data Space: learning from other countries on digital strategies and governance
Speakers:

• Nicola Bryant  – National Data Guardian for the NHS in the UK (UK representative)
• Eric Sutherland: Senior Health Economist, OECD, Leader in integrated digital health ecosystems, formerly a lead on the pan-Canadian Health Data Strategy, Data Governance expert with CIHI (International expert). He will soon be publishing some excellent work on Digital Health policies internationally and is working to elevate international leading practices. He could be a great speaker, or we may be able to identify some colleagues from other countries to share their journeys (which are very relevant to ours).
• ASTP representative (TBD) US-based: ASTP is organizationally located within the Office of the Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ASTP is the principal federal entity charged with coordinating nationwide efforts to implement and use the most advanced health information technology and the electronic exchange of health information. The position of National Coordinator was created in 2004 through an Executive Order and legislatively mandated in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) of 2009. Through its work, ASTP remains focused on two strategic objectives: Advancing the development and use of health IT capabilities and establishing expectations for data sharing.

Involvement: Consider having patient partners help introduce speakers, speak briefly at the welcome/opening of each day and speak briefly as part of the closing of each day. Patient Advisors would be a great place to look for informed and articulate Patient Partners.

Topic: “Health Literacy as a Partner to Digital Literacy” – patient panel with clinicians, patient advisors, and researchers on the importance of building literacy and trust with patients for digital health data literacy and its importance and relevance to a modernized health data system. The session will highlight barriers to health data literacy and practical solutions to overcome them.
Speakers:

• Alies Maybee, co-founder of the Patient Advisors Network, EAG member for the Pan-Canadian Health Data Strategy (Toronto)
• Louise Binder, Patient Advisor, Health Policy Consultant, Save your Skin Foundation
• Conrad Pow, Digital Health, Diabetes Action Canada
• Dr. Amy Freier, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Lead, HDRN Canada (Researcher)
• Dr. Catharine Whiteside, Director, Strategic Partnerships, Diabetes Action Canada (Clinician)
• Laura Williams, MSW, RSW, CHE, Senior Director, Patient Experience, University Health Network
• Linda Mouhamou, Patient Partner

Topic: Discussion on population health
Speakers: A panel TBD with representations across Canada on how different regions are tackling population health and the need to ensure patient data is available when needed and not duplicated.

Topic: Reflections on the Pandemic and the Role of Social Media Technology in Healthcare
Speaker: Isaac Bogoch
Speaker: Dr. Katharine Smart (she presented at the Collision Tech Conference).

Topic: Unique and Inspirational Topic TBC
Speaker: Sébastien Sasseville was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2002, the most severe form of the disease. He then vowed that the condition would never stop him. He has dedicated his life to inspiring and impacting others positively. Today, no other person living with type 1 diabetes in the world has accomplished what he has. As an endurance athlete, some of his extraordinary accomplishments include summiting Mount Everest, completing the mythical Sahara race (the toughest ultra-cycling event in the world) and running across Canada, a 7500km journey equivalent to 180 marathons in nine months. His achievements in sports are undeniable proof that adversity can be transformed into opportunity. Sébastien’s story isn’t about overcoming obstacles but rather the opposite. Sébastien has purposely chosen to lean into the toughest challenges on earth, to learn, to grow, and to help others to believe they can also achieve the impossible.

Sébastien’s unique journey enables him to deliver profoundly heartfelt and insightful messages. He empowers leaders to lead with purpose and inspires organizations to embrace change, remain engaged, and develop the unwavering belief that they can achieve extraordinary results. Having held diverse sales roles in several Fortune 500 companies, Sasseville marries his business experience with his extensive inspirational achievements to deliver dynamic messaging on change management, leadership, teamwork, resilience, purpose, and motivation.

Supported by powerful imagery, awe-inspiring stories, and unique accomplishments, Sasseville’s keynotes emphasize the importance of agility when it comes to change and transformation. He says that when we face a challenge, we must accept that we don’t have all the answers at first. But by taking a first step and allowing the experience to unfold, we can often find the answers in the journey. His keynotes also illustrate the importance of putting the mission first when leading a team, as when the mission is more important than individual success, he says, this is how we build an army.

Fully bilingual, Sébastien has been featured in several media outlets, including CBC, TSN, The Huffington Post, CTV, Global TV, Radio-Canada, and countless newspapers.