General Information
Revolutionizing Healthcare Through Data-Driven Innovation
Where we’ll embrace change, turn problems into potential, and chart the future in healthcare
The 23rd Annual Healthcare Summit: The Future of Innovation, Personalized Medicine and Genomics, bringing together over 50 national and international subject matter experts and leaders in digital health technology, personalized medicine, health innovation, value-based healthcare and genomics. Our goal is to facilitate a collaborative and interactive platform that can stimulate innovative thinking, develop new relationships, and help translate research into practice.
Educating and discussing the most relevant topics on the rapid acceleration towards digital healthcare.
- Digital Health Transformations
- Personalized Medicine
- Value-Based Healthcare
- The Future of Pharmacies
- Artificial Intelligence
- Genomics
- Primary Care
- Digital Health
- Health Innovation
- Mental Health
Summit Rates (In-person registration)**
It is a place where you will experience engaging and interactive live keynotes and concurrent panel sessions, networking activities, interactive exhibit booths and the opportunity to build business relationships.
Early Bird (until August 15th) |
Regular (after August15th) |
|
Public Sector | $475.00 CAD (plus GST) |
$675.00 CAD (plus GST) |
Private Sector | $775.00 CAD (plus GST) |
$975.00 CAD (plus GST) |
Registration Includes:
- 2 day live interactive in-person experience in Vancouver, BC (Oct.3-4)
- Collaborate with senior executives who are leading and changing the healthcare industry
- Signature keynotes by international subject matter experts in healthcare
- Concurrent panel sessions + interactive in-person Q & A
- Unparalleled in-person networking via 1:1 meetings and small group conversations
- Lunch and coffee breaks – please note breakfast is not provided
If you are a post-secondary student please inquire about our special student rate.
**Subject to provincial guidelines
Who Attends
Social Media
Stay connected and engaged in the conversation leading up to and during the summit by following along on Twitter @HLTHCARESUMM. Use the event hashtags #HCS and #HCS23 in your tweets to add to the existing discussions. Please also join our new healthcare group on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13913989.
*Please note the video references Pre-Summit workshops – we have decided not to offer these this year due to many companies recognizing Truth & Reconciliation Day on Monday, October 2nd.
Coast Coal Harbour Hotel
Set the tone for an extraordinary event at Coast Coal Harbour Vancouver Hotel by APA, where we offer 8,000 square feet of versatile venue space and a remarkable downtown location. Our meeting rooms include the expansive Coal Harbour Ballroom, which offers magnificent views through colour-infused glass and can be divided into two separate venues for smaller gatherings. Connect and collaborate in the Conoe Room, our Executive Boardroom, with its stunning, locally-crafted solid wood table and modern audiovisual technology. Keep meeting guests energized with our flavourful catering menus, including coffee breaks and working lunches. And trust our seasoned event planners to manage everything, from start to finish.
As part of Coast Hotels’ commitment to being Refreshingly Green™, we are proud to ensure that your business event is as environmentally responsible as possible, it includes the use of recycled paper and pads, plastic-free catering and more.
When the workday is done, you and your group can enjoy a meal and a drink at Prestons Restaurant + Lounge before venturing out and experiencing Vancouver’s vibrant nightlife scene. Our team is on hand to plan teambuilding events for you, too.

*Invited Speaker
Click on the date of the agenda you would like to view. Please note the timezone listed on the agenda.
Tuesday, October 3, 2023
7:15am PST •
Registration Opens
8:25-9:10am PST • Coal Harbour Ballroom Presentation Files John Nosta
Session 1 - Keynote Address: The Emergence of the Cognitive Age
We are moving from yesterday’s conventions of the mechanical advantage and digitization into a new era where technology and artificial intelligence become our cognitive partners. From education to clinical care, the technological path forward will transform and catalyze human thought and empower u
Presentation Files John Nosta
9:10-10:40am PST • Coal Harbour Ballroom
Opening Panel: Where We Have Come From and Where Do We Go From Here?
We have experienced unprecedented healthcare challenges in the past three years forcing modernization and innovation like never before. Healthcare transformation is gaining momentum as discussed during the 2022 Annual Healthcare Summit. Actions have been taken to 1) adopt the right mind set; 2) leverage technology to face healthcare human resource challenges; 3) drive health innovation with data analytics; 4) advance the use of personalized care and medicine and other activities. The panelists in this opening session will discuss the progress so far and set the stage for the Summit by providing insights to encourage leaders and stakeholders to take bold calculated steps needed to transform healthcare and deliver on improved health outcomes.
10:40-11:00am PST • Coal Harbour Foyer
Morning Coffee Break
11:00-11:30am PST • Coal Harbour Ballroom
Session 2 - Keynote by Roche: Precision Genomics for Cancer Care: Getting a Slice of the Pie
11:35am-12:35pm PST • Coal Harbour A
Session 3A - Concurrent Panel: Primary Care - Ensuring Equitable Access for our Citizens
This panel will explore the key issues arising from the lack of access to primary healthcare which is recognized globally as the essential and key foundation to sustain our effective healthcare system in Canada.
The discussion will explore the reasons why currently approximately 1 in 5 (20%) of Canadian citizens are denied access to a family doctor or primary healthcare provider, and the significant health consequences that result from this critical failure. This expert panel will share some new thinking on this issue, and will discuss the policy changes that, if adopted, could provide solutions to help resolve this critical problem.
The panelists, comprising advocates for reform will include primary healthcare providers, health policy makers, medical faculty leaders and professional / regulatory association representatives will discuss a number of innovative strategies and policies that can help bridge the gaps in healthcare access, promote inclusivity, and ensure that every citizen has equal opportunities to receive comprehensive primary care services.
11:35am-12:35pm PST • Coal Harbour B
Session 3B - Concurrent Panel: Personalized Medicine: How Multi-omic Approaches are Helping Patients Now
The field of multi-omics in healthcare is advancing rapidly, and providers are now using genomic and other ‘omic data and tools to inform diagnoses, develop personalized treatments, and even prevent diseases. However, with this new technology comes a host of ethical, legal, and social implications that must be considered. This panel will share their personal journeys, the impact of multi-omic technologies on their health and the opportunities for the future of healthcare. The discussion will explore issues of equal access to these technologies , the balance between privacy and data sharing to treat and advance our knowledge and how we can better incorporate these care pathways into our own healthcare system to improve outcomes.
By the end of the panel, attendees will have a greater appreciation for the challenges a patient faces and the benefits provided by current and emerging technologies to deliver better outcomes based on individual needs.
12:35-1:35pm PST • Coal Harbour Foyer
Lunch Break
1:35-2:05pm PST • Coal Harbour A Presentation Files Zayna Khayat
Session 4A - Concurrent Keynote: The Future of the Health Workforce: How Digital Tools and Data Are Helping Tackle Root Causes for Labour Shortages in Healthcare Delivery
The health system in Canada is experiencing a severe worker shortage due to higher than normal attrition, competition for new supply of talent, and unscalable analog care models that are labor-intensive and fraught with friction and inefficiencies. Faced with less supply of health workers than there is demand for services, ‘hiring our way out of the crisis’ is not possible, nor necessary. Dr. Khayat will explore how delivery organizations, health systems & intermediaries shifting the frame of the problem, rethinking the DEMAND-side levers of a stable health workforce. By focusing on the 3Ws: reimagining WHAT work needs to be done, WHO does the work (including the role of machines!), and the WORKPLACE the work is delivered. She will highlight how digital tools and data are key enablers. The audience will be armed with new ways to rebase the 3 Ws (Work, Workers, Workplace) as a way to produce the resilient, flexible, high performing health workforce Canadians can be proud of.
Presentation Files Zayna Khayat
1:35-2:05pm PST • Coal Harbour B Presentation Files Diane McIntosh
Session 4B - Concurrent Keynote: A Psychiatrist's Perspective: Our Mental Healthcare System Must Urgently Embrace Technology
In Canada, the majority of mental health care is delivered by non-psychiatric primary care practitioners. While many clinicians would argue they’re following standards of care, the reality of what's happening in clinician’s offices is highly variable. With misdiagnosis rates between 66% and 98% for psychiatric patients diagnosed and treated in primary care, the lack of a consistent, evidence-based standard of care is clearly evident. Furthermore, for treatment to be effective (and adhered to), clinicians must consider the highest quality, most up-to-date empirical evidence and make recommendations that consider each individual’s unique needs.
Diagnostic inaccuracy and treatment ineffectiveness, compounded with a pervasive lack of access to family physicians, nurse practitioners, and psychiatrists, is creating a perfect storm for mental health care. While millions of dollars are being earmarked for mental health, and many are scrambling to hire mental healthcare professionals, unless we provide much higher quality tools for those who are currently bearing the weight of care delivery, we will never achieve the quality and outcomes we're striving for.
Robust clinical decision support systems would provide healthcare practitioners with best-practice information at the point of care (when they are seeing their patients), but these tools are profoundly lacking. It's time for psychiatry to catch up with other areas of medicine, by providing practitioners with the support they need to deliver the best care possible. It’s time to invest in technology to support treating clinicians so they can provide rapidly accessible, immediately actionable, evidence-based, and personalized psychiatric guidance to their patients.
Presentation Files Diane McIntosh
2:10-3:10pm PST • Coal Harbour A
Session 5A - Concurrent Panel: Artificial Intelligence “The Future of Healthcare Delivery”
The healthcare industry is at an inflection point with the emergence of large language models (LLPs) such as GPT, which offer significant advantages in medicine. LLPs can process and generate human-like language, adapt language style based on the target audience, and process large data sets more efficiently than humans. This technology enables healthcare professionals to elevate their emotional skills and collaborate more effectively while leveraging the cognitive abilities of AI models. This convergence of advanced technology and human emotion has the potential to revolutionize patient care and elevate the overall healthcare experience.
This panel will explore the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the future of healthcare delivery. AI is rapidly transforming the way healthcare is delivered, from patient diagnosis to treatment and beyond. Panelists will discuss the latest AI technologies, their potential applications in healthcare, and the challenges that must be addressed to ensure AI is used safely and effectively.
2:10-3:10pm PST • Coal Harbour B
Session 5B - Concurrent Panel: Personalized Medicine: Pathogen Genomics Data Sharing and the Emergence of Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs)
Opportunities exist for public health organizations to advance precision public health by adopting genomic sequencing and data sharing through highly curated, but interoperable, genomics data sharing. Privacy-enhancing technologies, backed by national statistical organizations such as the United Nations Statistics Division are examples of this. This panel will discuss key opportunities for IT to leverage PETs as the fastest path to early wins in pathogen genomic data sharing for important public health applications.
3:10-3:30pm PST • Coal Harbour Foyer
Afternoon Refreshment Break
3:30 - 4:00pm PST • Coal Harbour A Presentation Files Chad & Brad
Session 6A - Concurrent Keynote by Zscaler/Optiv: Guarding the Future of Healthcare: A Zscaler and Optiv Collaboration on Secure Healthcare Transformation
Discover how Zscaler and Optiv join forces to fortify the healthcare landscape in an evolving digital era. Our session explores the imperative to secure healthcare delivery, emphasizing patient care and outcomes amidst rapid industry transformations. From the integration of telehealth to managing hybrid workforces and connected devices, we shed light on safeguarding accessible healthcare networks against the escalating threat landscape. Join us for an enlightening discussion on securely transforming healthcare delivery for a safer and more efficient future.
3:30 - 4:00pm PST • Coal Harbour B
Session 6B - Concurrent Keynote by Tectonic Advisory Services: Tectonic: Where the Innovation Collides between the Private and Public Sector
With a laser focus on digital transformation and a commitment to collaboration, Tectonic has one clear goal: to shift and enable healthcare organizations to achieve digital success with greater speed, discipline, and impact. Learn about Tectonic’s approach in accelerating digital transformation as they empower healthcare enterprises and industry to shift to the future of healthcare with digital strategies and innovative solutions. Come and see how Tectonic makes SHIFT Happen and hear about the success story and meet some of their clients who will provide first hand accounts.
4:05-4:35pm PST • Coal Harbour Ballroom Presentation Files Jimmy Yang
Session 7 - Keynote Address by Accenture: Ready for Change: Design Principles for an Improved Primary Care System
An examination of global lessons learned on primary care reform and modernization, and a view into what Canadian front line providers are saying through Accenture’s recently released ‘Ready for Change’ national survey.
Presentation Files Jimmy Yang
Wednesday, October 4, 2023
7:45am PST • Coal Harbour Foyer
Registration Opens
8:40-8:45am PST • Coal Harbour Ballroom Presentation Files Michael Green
Opening Introductions
Presentation Files Michael Green
8:45-9:15am PST • Coal Harbour Ballroom
Session 8 - Opening Keynote: Unlocking the Power of Health Data: The Key to Healthcare Modernization
Digital innovation and health data are essential to improving our health system, including through facilitating better access to patient-centered care and enabling improved health outcomes for Canadians. This session will focus on the actions that the Government of Canada is taking in collaboration with Provinces and Territories to modernize health systems and improve the health of Canadians through standardized health data, innovation and digital technologies. As we move forward with ambitious plans, this session will also highlight innovative regulatory solutions in personalized medicine, genomics, and artificial intelligence (AI). Inextricably linked to these advancements are ensuring the appropriate protections to Canadians’ health information, modernized approaches to health data governance and data stewardship, as well as the work to meaningfully engage Canadians and build public trust. The topics being explored at this Summit are integral to helping us to achieve data-driven innovation that supports a modern and interconnected health system.
9:20-10:20am PST • Coal Harbour A
Session 9A: Concurrent Panel: Transforming Healthcare Services Through Digital Health Integration – Hybrid Models in Action
COVID has solidified the place of digital health and virtual care in the Canadian healthcare system landscape. As our health system continues to embrace and integrate digital solutions in health service delivery, what are some of the innovative examples that are illuminating the way in showcasing how hybrid care – seamlessly integrating digital and in-person care – can optimally support patients and health providers to improve access and quality of care? This session will explore several of these cutting edge approaches and engage our audience for a stimulating dialogue as to how the future of hybrid care will continue to unfold.
9:20-10:20am PST • Coal Harbour B
Session 9B: Concurrent Panel: The Future of Pharmacies: Patients are the Most Underused Resources of Healthcare; Pharmacists are the Most Underused Resources of Medicine
Despite modern society molding their profession into medical shopkeeping, pharmacists are in a better situation to devote more time to patients. The evolution of pharmacies and pharmacist’s role in the digital health era can take several pathways. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society emphasized the need for pharmacies to refocus their strategy of just supplying medicines toward providing services that attend to patient needs. With pharmacies and drug stores adapting to the digital health era pharmacy settings will have to change. A boost in medical booths with pharmaceutical offerings? Health consultancies? Pharmacies as a specialized point of care?
10:20-10:45am PST • Coal Harbour Foyer
Morning Coffee Break
10:45-11:45am PST • Coal Harbour A
Session 10A - Concurrent Panel: The Power of Digital Health to Transform Mental Healthcare
The recent pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital technology in healthcare, overcoming obstacles to make virtual care a widely accepted means of care delivery, technologies that had been widely adopted in the business and education sectors for years. The pandemic also exposed the vulnerabilities of an already stressed healthcare system and took an enormous toll on the mental health of Canadians and the healthcare providers serving them. The issues with availability and access of quality (and timely) mental healthcare are not new. But mental healthcare has reached a crisis point. Children and youth, indigenous populations, rural and remote communities, and our elderly and other vulnerable populations continue to face seemingly insurmountable barriers to access to mental healthcare. Employers are feeling the impact too, investing significant resources to make virtual health and mental healthcare available to support the health and well-being of their workforce.
In this panel we will hear from a variety of leaders with unique perspectives on how digital health can advance access to quality and timely mental healthcare for all Canadians.
10:45-11:45am PST • Coal Harbour B Presentation Files Panel 10B
Session 10B - Concurrent Panel: Diagnostic State of Readiness Project: Precision Medicine/Companion Diagnostics and How our Healthcare System Needs to Prepare for this Evolving Landscape
Genomic testing has already become commonplace in oncology, but exponential growth in more comprehensive genomic tests, other innovative tests, and testing approaches in oncology and across a number of other therapeutic areas is expected in the coming years. With the emergence of more complex, more expensive, and more promising precision medicine tests, policymakers and healthcare providers across Canada are being challenged by the need to evaluate and implement these new tests. All healthcare system stakeholders must be aware of the necessary conditions for Innovative advancement and how we can all best support this. This panel will describe what conditions are necessary for equitable access to advanced innovative testing, how major Canadian provinces are doing, and what more needs to be done in the coming years to benefit patients.
11:50am-12:20pm PST • Coal Harbour A Presentation Files Celio Oliveira
Session 11A - Concurrent Keynote: Unleashing the Potential of Data Governance for Data-Driven Decision-Making
In today's data-centric era, enterprises and institutions continually seek avenues to optimize the worth of their data assets. " Unleashing the Potential of Data Governance for Data-Driven Decision-Making" delves into the pivotal role of data governance in facilitating data-driven decision-making processes.
This talk explores the concept of data governance, dissects its components, and elucidates its significance in the contemporary landscape. It unveils the hurdles that organizations encounter while managing substantial data volumes and furnishes practical remedies for the efficacious implementation of data governance.
By delving into real-world case studies from Federal Governments of Estonia and Brazil spanning diverse geographical contexts, we gain insight into how data governance can elevate data from a mere resource to a strategic asset. It underscores the criticality of data quality, security, and compliance, vividly illustrating how these facets intricately weave into the tapestry of data governance.
In essence, " Unleashing the Potential of Data Governance for Data-Driven Decision-Making" delivers a compelling analysis on how data governance can empower organizations to make confident data-driven decisions, ultimately steering them towards success in an increasingly data-centric world, while also contributing to fairness and equitable service provision.
Presentation Files Celio Oliveira
11:50am-12:20pm PST • Coal Harbour B Presentation Files Stephen Goldsmith
Session 11B - Concurrent Keynote by Petal Health: How Connecting a Provincial Health System Elevates Care Orchestration and Improves Access for All Patients
Patient access to appropriate and timely care remains the most pressing concern in all Canadian jurisdictions. The key to better healthcare access can be summarized as the relationship between the supply of medical availability and the associated patient demand for it and an analogy of Aristotle’s ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’ quote. This integrated concept leads to better care orchestration through connecting the health system, which has been implemented successfully on a provincial scale in Quebec.
This keynote presentation will spotlight the effects of care orchestration and its impacts on increasing patient access in a timely manner for patients with and without a family doctor, the reduction in emergency room burden and the contributions to healthcare savings across a Canadian province.
Presentation Files Stephen Goldsmith
12:20-1:20pm PST • Coal Harbour Ballroom
Lunch Break
1:20-1:50pm PST • Coal Harbour Ballroom Presentation Files Katharine Smart
Session 12 - Keynote Address: "Never Waste a Good Crisis"- The Opportunity to Transform Canadian Healthcare
The COVID19 pandemic brought Canadian healthcare into the hearts and minds of Canadians daily. Effective advocacy and leadership have never been more critical as we face a deteriorating healthcare system in the wake of the COVID19 pandemic. With historic investments on the table from the federal government in front of us is an opportunity to transform healthcare for Canadians. Dr. Smart will share lessons learned as a healthcare advocate and her vision on where we need to focus to deliver world class healthcare to Canadians.
Presentation Files Katharine Smart
1:55-2:55pm PST • Coal Harbour A
Session 13A - Concurrent Panel: Using Value-Based Healthcare Principles to Prepare Canada for the Next Generation of Innovative Therapies: Shifting From “Cost of Inputs” to “Return on Investment”
As international health systems increasingly adopt models where expenditures are based on patient outcomes rather than merely therapeutic inputs, we note the implications for Canada: potentially faster adoption of innovative medicines and devices, new negotiating approaches available to payers and manufacturers, and the increased patient-level data requirements of such models.
This experienced group of panelists will explore opportunities for health systems to secure ROI from new therapeutic approaches, and also share insights on navigating the challenges and barriers that slow health systems’ progress toward value-based healthcare ideals.
1:55-2:55pm PST • Coal Harbour B
Session 13B - Concurrent Panel: Strengthening Health Data Foundations Through Data Governance - Striking a Balance Between Privacy & Security and Data Sharing & Access
With the proliferation of ransomware attacks affecting hospitals and health organizations, taking measures to secure and protect patient data and privacy is more important than ever. At the same time, the Pan-Canadian Health Data Strategy Report issued in May 2022 called for taking measures to significantly improve data sharing and access to patient information in order to deliver safer care as well as help improve our healthcare system through data analysis and research. Can these apparently competing objectives be reconciled and perhaps made to even compliment each other? Leveraging data governance more strategically offers a potential solution. Join us as we explore how data governance can help find the right balance and identify innovative solutions that can improve data sharing while also enhancing privacy and security.
2:55-3:15pm PST • Coal Harbour Foyer
Afternoon Refreshment Break
3:15-4:45pm PST • Coal Harbour Ballroom
Closing Panel: How Will Innovation Transcend Healthcare’s Traditional Boundaries? What is our Innovation Framework?
Innovations in AI, multi-omics, digitization and methods of detection are challenging our current model of healthcare that appears locked in time and incredibly hard to change. We have a reduction in the number of practitioners that after a long pandemic are overworked and many are aging out. If we do not start to embrace innovations with greater urgency and in shorter timelines, our healthcare system will surely crumble. Members of the closing panel will share their observations and key take-aways from the summit proceedings to help navigate a course forward to not just save our system but be leaders in how cost effective care can be delivered with better outcomes through the employment of innovative technologies and ideas. They will discuss the priorities for implementation of innovations that can be most impactful in the immediate, near and long term. Our experts will also explore what barriers stand in the way of innovating health in Canada and propose a framework to deliver key innovations that will drive the improvement of accessibility and outcomes and reduce wait times and costs. Please join in on the discussion as the panel will be seeking input from the entire audience.
The 23rd Annual Healthcare Summit is proudly sponsored by the following companies.
If you would like to sponsor this event, please download the Sponsorship Brochure for more information.
Premier Sponsors
Platinum Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
Summit Sponsors
Coast Coal Harbour Vancouver Hotel
If you are attending the 23rd Annual Healthcare Summit and need to make a hotel reservation we have a room block at the Coast Coal Harbour Hotel with room rates starting at $189. The room block ends September 8th. To book a room within this room block please click here.
The Coast Coal Harbour Vancouver Hotel is situated right near the water, a stone’s throw from the beautiful Stanley Park as well as the bustling Gastown district and the renowned shopping on Robson Street and within easy access to an incredible array of arts and entertainment. We’re also steps from the Vancouver Convention Centre.
Each of the guest rooms at our downtown Vancouver hotel features floor-to-ceiling windows, Japanese automatic bidets (TOTO®), 55” flat screen TVs and traditional welcoming origami cranes, a symbol of hospitality. These high quality amenities are signature features of APA Hotel in Japan and unique toAPA’s Urban Style Hotel concept. Our rooms come with complimentary wireless Internet and a range of modern amenities. You’ll also have access to our top-notch fitness center, pool and hot tub—not to mention our signature Prestons Restaurant + Lounge, the perfect spot to drink, dine and dish about your Vancouver experience.
– Must cancel 48 hours prior to 4:00PM the day of arrival to avoid penalty. Cancellation fee of 1 night’s room and tax at confirmed rate.
– No-Show: Reservations where the guest has not arrived on their confirmed arrival date will be cancelled by the hotel and the party which has guaranteed the reservation will be charged an amount equalling one (1) night’s room rate and applicable taxes.
– Early Departure: An early departure fee equalling one night of the confirmed room rate and applicable taxes will be charged to the party which guaranteed the reservation for guests departing before their confirmed departure dates. Guests will be exempt from this charge if they change their departure dates prior to their arrival date or at the time of check in.
