Health care in Canada is a $105 billion industry – one of our country’s largest expenditures. Of this, $2 billion to $3 billion is spent on information technology (IT) annually. IT allows for greater communication and information sharing among patients, caregivers, and policymakers. IT also improves the accessibility and quality of health services and significantly increases the efficiency of the whole health care system.

Recognizing the potential impact, there is growing IT interest and investment in health care by vendors and users. This has led to many technology and policy innovations in the last few years – innovations that have demonstrated a marked benefit in quality and efficiency.

Ottawa has an established IT industry and a large life sciences community. There are many examples of successful adoptions of IT in the provision of health care and in clinical research. The purpose of this seminar series is to facilitate the exposure and exchange of experiences and ideas.

The seminars are targeted at health care providers, policymakers, IT entrepreneurs, technology developers, and students. The focus is on technologies that have actually been implemented; IT infrastructure development efforts and their costs/benefits; technology adoption experiences; and new public initiatives to support IT in health care. Speakers represent a cross-section from the life sciences community including vendors and developers of technology, researchers, and public officials.

2010-2011 Program Committee Members:

Michael Martineau (Co-Chair), B Sharp Technologies; Laurence Beaulieu (Co-Chair), Avaya Canada; Tyson Roffey, CHEO; Giovanni Vatieri, IBM; and Selena Tsai, University of Ottawa