2024 Speakers
Watch this space for speaker announcements!
André Picard
André Picard is a health columnist at The Globe and Mail and a bestselling author, including 2021’s Neglected no More: The Urgent Need to Improve the Lives of Canada’s Elders in the Wake of a Pandemic, as well as Matters of Life and Death: Public Health Issues in Canada, and The Path to Health Care Reform: Policies and Politics. Additionally, he is currently a visiting professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Journalism, Writing, and Media with his lessons focusing on the pandemic and public policy.
Anne Forsyth
Anne has 15 years of experience in the Digital Health field across government, hospital and community organizations. Her expertise is in the areas of data, information privacy and program development. Anne is currently the Director of Clinical Applications and Decision Support at Women’s College Hospital, where she focuses on continuous improvement of the EHR experience for care teams and patients, as well as advancing the hospital’s data governance practices and data analytics maturity. Anne has a Masters of Health Administration from the University of Toronto and holds CPHIMS-CA and CIPP/CA designations.
Jer Thorp
“Our data is constantly surveilled and sold in the interest of profit and power. But the future of data has yet to be written”, says JER THORP, “and we all have a say in making it more just and democratic”. Sought after by the likes of Twitter, Microsoft, and The New York Times, Thorp is an in-demand data artist revolutionizing the way we consume information. In his book Living in Data, he helps us redefine what data is, who gets to speak its language, and how we can use it to better serve us.
Dr. Patricia Visosky
Dr. Patricia Visosky is Coordinator of the Health Information Management program at Douglas College in British Columbia. The HIM Department offers both a post-baccalaureate diploma in HIM as well as a Bachelor of Science in HIM. Prior to that, she was a faculty member of the Bachelor in HIM at the Higher Colleges of Technology in the United Arab Emirates for 16 years. Dr. Visosky currently serves as the Board Chair of the Canadian Health Information Management Association. Dr. Visosky is a certified HIM professional and has a keen interest in health informatics. She has obtained her Master of Science in health informatics from the University of Bath in collaboration with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. Patricia has also completed her doctoral studies in health research with a focus on health informatics curriculum, also from the University of Bath.
Kathy Braaten
Kathy Braaten, CHIM, 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.