Did e-Health 2014 Deliver?

As conference chair for e-Health 2014 in Vancouver I set high expectations for myself and for the conference as a whole. I will let others comments on my performance as conference chair but add only that I enjoyed the experience especially welcoming to the plenary sessions the likes of CBC’s Rex Murphy, Shopper’s Domenic Pilla, Calgary’s Ward Flemons, and the very talented and inspirational group of e-Health Hackers. These were in addition to the large group of presenters and participants in the e-Poster, National Innovation Showcase and numerous breakout sessions over the 3.5-day event. I think it fair to say that no element of the Canadian e-health sector was overlooked in the design and execution of the conference. So, what was delivered?

We heard of the possible for Canada’s health system, that e-health has a critical role to play in achieving the possible, and that all players: administrators, clinicians, IT professionals, government, the private sector and the patient as well as the larger public all have a role to play to improve our health system. Rex Murphy put this in context when he provided an overview of what the Canadian health care system has achieved and the expectations of the Canadian public going forward. He suggested we can be proud of our achievements but that there is more to be done, now and in the future, and that e-health solutions will play a large part in this future. These ideas were expanded on in the very lively panel discussion featuring Richard Alvarez, Ed Brown and Sarah Muttitt. They addressed themselves to the e-health successes to date as well as the barriers yet to be overcome. But, they were optimistic for the future. Dr. Ward Flemons presented a compelling patient story and related the absence of integration and sharing of the patient’s health records that could easily have been facilitated with an e-health solution and would have avoided the patient’s death at the time. Domenic Pilla provided a compelling vision of Shopper’s Drug Mart and his parent company Loblaw’s focussing on integrating their business lines to better serve the health needs of the Canadian public. But what stole the show, so to speak, were the presentations emanating from the Hackathon where 15 teams emerged to develop an e-health solution to a health problem or opportunity pitched to them 1½ days earlier. I can only say, what energy, insights and innovative e-solutions were demonstrated by a young cadre of budding e-health entrepreneurs! The breakout sessions and exhibit hall covered the gamut in e-health solutions to address many in the myriad of existing health system delivery challenges. All sessions were well subscribed by the over 1500 people attending the conference.

So did e-Health 2014 deliver? The simple answer is ‘yes’. What remains, however, is for a future conference to bring forward a national e-health agenda for Canada that bridges the possible with where we are today. This will require leadership and a commitment to be the world’s leader in e-health delivery over the next decade. If what was on display at e-Health 2014 is any indication, we are certainly on our way to achieve this goal.

I look forward to continuing the discussion at e-Health 2015 in Toronto from May 31 – June 3 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

John G. Abbott
The Institute for the Advancement of Public Policy, Inc.
e-Health 2014 Conference Chair