Host webinars to raise awareness about common issues and ways to address them
Our webinars are designed to tackle the most pressing issues in health data today. By bringing together experts and engaging participants in meaningful discussions, we aim to raise awareness and inspire actionable solutions.
What to Expect:
- Expert Insights: Hear from leading voices from across the country with knowledge and lived experiences related to how health data is used and designed in Canada, from researchers, to frontline practitioners and patients.
- Practical Solutions: Learn strategies to address common challenges in the health data landscape.
- Interactive Dialogue: Participate in Q&A sessions and discussions to deepen your understanding.
Missed any of our webinars, no worries, you can find links and a short summary below, or make sure to visit our YouTube Channel and subscribe to be kept informed of new content.
Kick-Off Webinar
If we want to see change, we need to do things differently than how we have always done them.
On January 31st 2024, we held our first webinar to announce the Healthy Data Collective (it was previously called Healthy Data for Healthy People). In this webinar, David O’Toole, former CEO with the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), explained why CIHI wanted to provide financial support to advance this initiative. Dr. Ewan Affleck shared his experience with launching the Alberta Virtual Care Coordinating Body and how it was important to expand this work nationally. Kimberlyn McGrail talked about the importance of data beyond direct patient care and the importance of a strong network. Lastly, Paul Born, co-founder of the Tamarack Institute, shared his lessons from leveraging collective impact approach to address other complex social issues.
Interoperability Saves Lives
Health data is what keeps clinicians and teams connected and able to provide quality care to their patients, as long as it can be collected and shared seamlessly across the health system.
In this second webinar, Dr. Ewan Affleck, clinical informatician and practicing physician, and Tim Murphy, Vice-President Health with Alberta Innovates shared their experiences with the Alberta Virtual Care Coordinating Body (AVCCB) and highlighted key concepts from their Interoperability Saves Live report. The report, which proposed a health-data related harm framework and determinants of health data interoperability, has gained a significant amount of attention since it was released.
The Patient’s Perspective
There are still too many data silos which make it challenging for both patients and providers to have access to their health data when it is needed. Addressing this work requires a long-term vision of where we want to land.
In this third webinar, Teri Price, Executive Director with Greg’s Wing and Claire Snyman, patient advocate and author of Two Steps Forward, shared their perspectives about the importance of a patient-centered health data system to avoid costly mistakes.
Teri and Claire both shared their respective stories and what led them to be strong advocates for the growing emphasis on patient empowerment and engagement to drive health data system improvements.
The Research’s Perspective
Establishing a learning health system is essential for continuously integrating data, insights and practices to drive innovation and improve health outcomes. This includes considering the bias inherently present in the data.
In this fourth Webinar, we heard from Kimberlyn McGrail, Scientific Director, Health Data Research Network Canada (HDRN), and Professor, UBC School of Population and Public Health and Amy Freier, Research Associate with the Manitoba Centre for health Policy, and the Inclusion Diversity Equity and Accessibility for the Health Data Research Network Canada. The discussion focused on healthy data practices in research and delved into the optimization of health data for innovation within the healthcare sector.
Pan-Canadian Health Data Charter
A pan-Canadian health data charter is vital as a unifying framework to align efforts and drive collaborative progress in transforming our health data systems to better serve patients, and improve health outcomes for all those living in Canada.
In this fifth webinar, we had the pleasure of hosting members of the pan-Canadian Health Data Strategy Expert Advisory Group who provided input that led to an official pan-Canadian Health Data charter. Bartha Knoppers, a Canadian Law Professor, Dr. Ewan Affleck, a clinician and informatician, Alies Maybee, co-founder of the Patient Advisory Network, and Glynda Reese, Program Lead for Digital health with the British Columbia Institute of Technology provided their perspectives on what prompted the idea of a charter, and how they hope it would be used to foster change.
Importance of Health Data Literacy
Health data literacy is essential for empowering individuals and organizations to effectively understand, use and manage health data to drive meaningful system improvements.
In this sixth webinar, Alies Maybee, Catharine Whiteside and Conrad Pow discussed the critical role of health data literacy in enhancing Canada’s health data systems, healthcare delivery, and overall health outcomes. The session began by exploring definitions of health data literacy, highlighting its connections to various aspects of effective health data management. The conversation underscored the necessity of understanding and utilizing health data literacy as a foundational component for system improvement.
Highlights from the Data Disarray Report
Addressing data disarray requires aligned legislative and policy frameworks to enable seamless integrated health data systems that support improved care and delivery.
In this seventh webinar, Dr. Ewan Affleck, Brenda McPhail and Steven Tam provided an overview of the findings and recommendations from the Alberta Virtual Care Coordinating Body’s report “Data Disarray”. The discussion highlighted the challenges in Alberta’s health data management, emphasizing the need for accessible, integrated, and connected data systems to enhance patient care and system efficiency. The panelists underscored the importance of a unified approach to health data to drive meaningful improve in healthcare delivery.
