Agenda

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Coding Cancer Care: Developing a National Oncology Coding Micro-credential

Explore the collaborative journey of designing a specialized micro-credential that equips health information professionals with the knowledge and skills required for accurate oncology coding, strengthening cancer surveillance, research, and patient care across Canada.

Speaker: Lisa McKenzie, BHA, CHIM, CIPP/C 

Opening remarks by CEO and Registrar, Mahmoud Suleiman

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

The Cost of Caring: Vicarious Trauma in Health Information Professionals

Health information professionals are instrumental in providing high quality, usable data. With the increased prevalence of electronic health records and job necessity to review all patient documents, these professionals are exposed to traumatizing material including detailed descriptions and images of physical injuries. Those who regularly review health records are at risk of developing symptoms of vicarious trauma. Vicarious trauma is a multi-faceted condition that results from repeated and prolonged exposure to the traumatic experiences of others and can have a profound negative effect on perception, emotional health, and behavior. In autoethnographic form, we will explore this condition and outline methods of management and prevention.

Speakers: Kyla Hoogers, BA, CHIM, Senior Trauma Data Analyst, Trauma Care Alberta

Nicky Mathur, BSc, CHIM, Pediatric Trauma Analyst, Acute Care Alberta

2:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Bridging the Data Gap

This session will introduce participants to the foundational components of health data stewardship and Connected Care data content standards that are needed to begin or advance improvements in unlocking the power of data to improve health care and patient outcomes. Emphasizing a cultural shift in how data is collected, accessed, used and shared, this session will guide and support attendees so that they can move forward with applying stewardship and data standardization approaches to processes, strategies and programs of work within their organizational context.

Speakers: Christine McKenzie, Program Consultant, Interoperability Engagement, CIHI

Jesse Fracassi, Lead, Data Stewardship, CIHI

Sponsored by:  Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Dementia Disrupted: The Future of Health Information and Care

As dementia rates rise, health information professionals can help shape more compassionate and dementia-ready systems through better documentation, interoperability, and digital innovation.

Speaker: Steph Ouellet, MBA, CAE, Chief Executive Officer, Alzheimer Society Southwest Partners

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

The Foundation for Innovation: How Clinically Coded Data Powers Real-World Evaluations of AI in Healthcare

Health information professionals (HIPs) are probably already familiar with how AI will change their work. However, far less is said about the reverse: clinically-facing AI cannot safely move from pilot to business-as-usual without the data that HIPs produce every day.

This session begins with an example of how health economists use clinically-coded data for real-world evaluations. We discuss our independent evaluation of DERM, an AI tool used to triage urgent suspected skin cancer referrals across hospitals in England. We discuss how data underpinned the economic and safety analysis, producing a clear financial case and defining post-market safety requirements.

We will then turn to Canada, where a 2025 environmental scan identified 152 AI initiatives in healthcare but found that few publicly report outcomes, making it hard to assess effectiveness, return-on-investment, or scalability. Attendees will leave with a practical understanding of what evaluators need from clinically coded data and how data quality helps us determine which innovations to scale and which innovations to shelve.

Speaker: Jennifer Connolly, Co/Founder/Lead, Edge Health

2:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Details to come

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation in Ontario 

This session provides an overview of organ and tissue donation in Ontario. It examines the legal and ethical dimensions of consent and explores the management of health records after death.

Speaker: Maxime Grossi, BScN, RN, MA, Clinical Educator, Ontario Health - Trillium Gift of Life Network

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Sponsored by: Solventum

2:30 PM - 3:30 PM

The OKH Approach to Culturally Inclusive Child Health Information

This session will explore how culturally responsive, accessible health information and meaningful community engagement can strengthen trust, improve health literacy, and advance health equity. Drawing on lessons learned from Our Kids' Health (OKH) Network, a social media-based child health initiative that uses a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach to co-create evidence-based child health and parenting information with 10 diverse cultural-linguistic communities (Arabic, Black, Black-Francophone, Cantonese, Filipino, Hispanic, Mandarin, Punjabi, Tamil, and Ukrainian), participants will learn practical strategies for creating trusted, community-informed health information, increasing knowledge uptake, and addressing health misinformation across digital platforms.

Speakers: Dr. Ripudaman Minhas, MD, MPH, FRCPC, FAAP
Project Lead/ Developmental Pediatrician, Our Kids' Health, St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto

Michelle Au, MA
Research Coordinator, Our Kids' Health, St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Holding the Line: Protecting Data Quality Through System Transformation

Every major system change increases pressure on coding and data quality before it delivers any benefit. EMR replacements disrupt abstraction workflows, CAC shifts coders from assignment to validation, AI adoption brings uncertainty about scope and outcomes, and staff turnover takes institutional knowledge with it. This session examines where accuracy typically slips during these transitions, the impact it has, and how hospitals can protect against it.

Speakers: Iain Robinson, Founder & CEO, 3terra

Matt Goertz, VP Client Strategy & Partnerships, 3terra

Sponsored by: 3terra

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Content coming soon!

2:30 PM - 3:30 PM

The Future of Health Information: AI, Trust, and Human Behaviour

Examining the balance between AI-driven efficiency, patient trust, automation bias, and ethical decision-making.

Speaker: Simone Holligan, PhD, Assistant Professor, Western University

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Charting a New Course for Hospital Data in Canada

This session will explore how CIHI is transforming hospital data through CHARTED, modernizing data standards, streamlining data flows, and adopting emerging technologies to enable more timely, connected information.

Speaker: Tanya Khan, MHSc, Manager of Hospital Data Transformation, Enablement & Adoption, CIHI

Sponsored by: Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

CHIMA and AHIMA - Policy Landscape

CHIMA’s Betsy Nejat and AHIMA’s Andrew Tomlinson discuss Canada and US HIM climate.

Speakers: Betsy Nejat, BA, CAE, Sr Director, Partnerships and External Relations, CHIMA

Andrew Tomlinson, Senior Director, Regulatory & International Affairs, AHIMA

2:30 PM - 3:30 PM

AI and Health Data: what's changing and where are the risks and opportunities

AI is changing how health data is generated, and in many cases, it's happening one clinician at a time. This session examines trends in AI uptake, from scribes and imaging to coding and administration.  Grounded in Canadian survey data and implementation case studies, we’ll discuss policy implications and opportunities for health information professionals.

Speaker: Simon Hagens