TORONTO, April 23, 2012 - International experts, scientists and innovators in the field of health informatics and eHealth will meet in Toronto this week to discuss how the latest technologies, processes and guidelines can enable more efficient and effective healthcare delivery. Speakers will address how diagnostic imaging and medical pathology results can be brought together to the point of care and how integrated teams can use these results for better care.
The Advances in Health Informatics Conference 2012 will be held at York University, Thursday April 26 to Friday April 27. Co-hosted by the National Institutes of Health Informatics and York University, the conference will also be available remotely via interactive webcast.
As it becomes increasingly possible to use advanced technologies to capture and share medical images, for example, there is increased potential to improve productivity in our healthcare system. However, conference speakers will address not only the technical possibilities but the practical realities of tapping into their potential.
Highlights include:
Transforming the future of health care with informatics – Dr. Dave Williams
Canadian astronaut and physician, president and CEO of Southlake Regional Health Centre and assistant professor of surgery at the University of Toronto (Thursday, 8:30am).
Five keynote presentations by international experts in integrated diagnostics and integrated care delivery −
Dr. Bruce Friedman, professor emeritus University of Michigan Medical School and president of Pathology Education Consortium, who is credited with naming the field of pathology informatics, will speak about digital pathology and the future with integrated diagnostics. (Thursday, 9:15am)
Dr. Ulysses Balis, associate professor and director of clinical informatics, University of Michigan Health System, about digital pathology technology and the rush to develop algorithms that allow for direct interrogation of digital imagery for diagnostic information. Balis will look closely at the technical and operational aspects of emerging technologies that enable image-based decision support solutions. (Thursday, 1pm)
Dr. Sylvia Asa, medical director, Toronto Medical Laboratories and pathologist-in-chief, University Health Network, on the use of digital pathology to provide on-site intra-operative consultations. Applying this technology in a public healthcare system is a way to rationalize diagnostic medicine but provide the highest level of care, whatever the patient’s location. (Friday, 9am)
Dan Gordon, executive consultant, IBM Global Healthcare Centre of Competence and Aditya Pai, senior managing consultant, IBM Global Business Services, on how large healthcare databases and the tools of Business Intelligence can assist us in the analysis and management of health care. (Friday, 1pm)
Transforming health care: Evidence, pragmatism and politics – a workshop on the potential that eHealth capabilities have to significantly increase the productivity of the health system at a time when funding has become highly restrained.
Speakers include: Dr. R. Brian Haynes of McMaster University, on the evidence about what is working in health care; William Falk of the University of Toronto, discussing what is happening in eHealth in Canada; and William J. Pascal, of the Canadian Medical Association, on the policy shifts that must occur to enable the potential of eHealth systems during a time of government spending restraint. (Thursday, 3:30pm)
WHAT:
Advances in Health Informatics Conference 2012
WHEN:
Thursday, April 26 and Friday, April 27
WHERE:
Schulich School of Business, Executive Learning Centre, York University
MAP:
Number 94 on the map, http://www.yorku.ca/yorkweb/maps/keele.htm
Program:
http://www.ahic.nihi.ca/index.php?MenuItemID=24
NIHI (www.nihi.ca) is a Canada-wide, virtual institute of institutes bringing together experts in Health Informatics. NIHI serves as a catalyzer, co-ordinator and facilitator that assists in defining, fostering and bonding together local initiatives dedicated to HI research and education.
York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto – Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 55,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 240,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 faculties and 28 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.
Media Contacts:
Janice Walls, Media Relations, York University, 416 736 2100 x22101 / wallsj@yorku.ca
Shirley Fenton, VP National Institutes of Health Informatics, 1 519 888 4074 / sfenton@uwaterloo.ca
Aleena Aftab, Media Relations, National Institutes of Health Informatics, 1 226 218 2182 / aaftab@nihi.ca
