Call for Abstracts
Deadline for abstract submissions: May 30, 2024.
*Abstracts selected for presentation will be eligible for 60% off of full-priced conference tickets.
List price of $399 (plus taxes) per selected speaker. If your abstract is selected and a ticket was previously purchased at a higher price, we will issue a refund on the difference.
General breakout sessions facilitate the exploration of a wide range of topics. These sessions are 1 hour long and will focus on information sharing with a Q&A portion. These sessions can be presentations, panel discussions, or interactive sessions.
Please also note your session will be pre-recorded September -October 2024, for post-conference distribution.
Submission of a slide deck is optional at this time but will be required for selected presenters.
Workshops should include hands-on activities to allow participants to apply the concepts they've learned. These sessions are 90 minutes and could include group exercises, case studies, role-playing scenarios, or practical demonstrations. Participants are encouraged to engage in group discussions to share their perspectives, experiences, and insights related to the workshop topic.
Submission of a slide deck is optional at this time but will be required for selected presenters.
Conference Themes
The transformation of Health Information Management
Advancing health equity measures
Exploring key trends in health information
Meet the abstract reviewers
At the forefront of innovation and excellence in health information, we are proud to introduce the esteemed volunteers comprising our Abstract Review Team. Diverse in expertise and united in passion, our team hails from every corner of Canada, bringing together a wealth of knowledge and experience. From coast to coast, each member contributes a unique perspective to shape the conference agenda. Read their biographies below.
Cassandra Linton MSc, BSc
Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)
Manager, Classifications and Terminologies - Operations
Cassandra Linton has over twenty years of experience in the health information field and holds a Master of Science in HealthSciences from the University of Waterloo. She is currently the Manager, Classifications and Terminologies – Operations with the Canadian Institute for Health Information. In this role she oversees the update and maintenance of clinical data standards and support for the implementation of these standards. She is also the co-chair of the World Health Organization (WHO) Family of International Classifications and is a member and former co-chair of the WHO Informatics and Terminologies Committee.
Brittany Roming, CHIM
Saskatchewan Medical Association
Practice Advisor
Brittany Roming, CHIM is a Practice Advisor with the Saskatchewan Medical Association EMR Program. She has over 10 years' experience working healthcare as a Medical Administrative Assistant both in family practice and hospital environments utilizing a variety of health information modalities including paper, hybrid, and electronic medical record (EMR) systems.
In her role as a Medical Office Assistant, she experienced two clinics transition from paper to EMR. This sparked an interest in what EMR systems could offer - health data and work flow efficiency. After encountering a former coworker who had recently gone back to school in Health Information Management, Brittany decided to read more into what Health Information Management had to offer.
In 2019, Brittany enrolled in part-time online studies at the Centre for Distance Education, which enabled her to continue to work full-time in her Medical Office Assistant role through the pandemic. She graduated in Health Information Management from the Centre for Distance Education in 2021, and became Certified in Health Information Management in 2022. Shortly after certifying, Brittany began working for the Saskatchewan Medical Association's EMR Program as a Practice Advisor.
In her role as a Practice Advisor, she works with partner organizations and vendors to assist physicians and their clinics in navigating their EMR systems and digital tools to capture and use health data as well as help create more efficient workflows in their practice. Brittany is passionate about data standardization and advocating for digital health. She brings a unique perspectiveto her team from the health information management view as well as from previous experiences working in clinics.
In her spare time, Brittany enjoys weightlifting, and spending time outdoors gardening and walking the river trails in Saskatoon.She also volunteers with a rescue fostering street cats.
Kathy Braaten, CHIM
Director, Program Standards and Development, Privacy and Health Information Management
Saskatchewan Health Authority
Kathy has been in the Health Information Management (HIM) field for 21 years, starting in the Niagara Health Region. After completing her HIM course, she worked in various roles in the Health Records department, gaining valuable experience. She then became a coding specialist at Greater Niagara General Hospital and later at Royal University Hospital in Saskatchewan. She also served as President of SHIMA, a provincial HIM association. In 2018, she became Director of Program Standards and Development at Saskatchewan Health Authority, focusing on standardizing HIM processes. She also temporarily served as Executive Director. Kathy lives in Saskatoon with her family, enjoying golfing and travelling.
Christine Sham
Director, Information Management Strategy and Policy
Ministry of Health
Christine holds a degree in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto and is widely recognized as a digital health leader in Ontario. She has had an important role in shaping and leading digital health strategy in the Ministry of Health for nearly two decades. In her current role as Director, Information Management Strategy and Policy at the Ministry, she champions the development and implementation of provincial data and digital strategies to catalyze health system transformation and digital health innovation."
Karen Padavattan BScN
SickKids
Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI)Specialist
Karen is a Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) Specialist in the Enterprise Information Management (EIM) department at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). Karen’s responsibilities include developing educational material and leading initiatives to promote and reinforce clinical documentation improvement. In addition, she contributes to the optimization of enterprise information systems to ensure the accuracy and availability of data, not just for high quality patient care, but also effective and efficient hospital operations, reporting and research.
Karen holds a BScN from the University of Toronto. She has worked in various nursing roles at SickKids and has extensive clinicaland informatics nursing education experiences. Her clinical experiences include over 10 years as an RN, within the Pediatric Medicine, Respiratory Medicine, and Infectious Diseases department where she held various leadership roles, including InterimClinical Leader and Interim Clinical Educator. She worked briefly in Quality Management as a Central Hospital Acquired Conditions (HAC) Auditor coaching and providing education to frontline nurses and unit leadership teams to support standardized best practices related to Central Line care. As an Informatics Nurse Education Specialist and an Epic Credentialed Trainer, she developed and delivered informatics education to clinical and non-clinical staff in the use of various clinical applications. Karen’s clinical and informatics experiences have highlighted the importance of providing tools and infrastructure to support clinicians and enable improved and complete clinical documentation.
Sharon Baker CTSS
Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)
Manager, Classifications and Terminologies-Development
Sharon Baker is a seasoned health information management professional with more than 30 years of experience in clinical coding,decision support and management in health care settings in Canada and Wales. As the Manager of Classifications andTerminologies, Development at the Canadian Institiute for Health Information, Sharon is responsible for spearheading thedevelopment of maps from clinical terminologies to classifications and the evaluation of ICD-11 (International Classification ofDiseases, 11th Revision) for health system use in Canada.
Farzam Abrishamkar, HICA
I am passionate about healthcare innovation and eager to make a difference. I have a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with Project Management specialization and I have worked as a Medical Administrative Assistant alongside physicians. I am enthusiastic about driving healthcare innovation and enhancing clinic operations through digital solutions.