2025 Agenda

There exists a mismatch between what is possible and what is permissible. Healthcare models in Canada’s peer countries have adapted and are providing better and more efficient care, in part because their healthcare systems are more flexible and allow for greater local innovation.

While the trend is moving in a positive direction, barriers continue to occur, sometimes out of nowhere. Even looking beyond revenue generation, with improved governance models, local healthcare providers can innovate to save money and provide improved care.

In Quebec, there are perhaps some unique challenges, but there are also some creative solutions and important initiatives being developed and implemented.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• Why and how Provincial and Federal Governments need to work decentralize and open up new opportunities without ministerial barriers
• The meaning of innovation, and overcoming blocks to implementation for improving healthcare revenue and cost containment – in addition to improved care
• Why innovation needs to be streamlined with fewer levels of review, to be timely, effective and scalable
• What individual organization can do to innovate and build revenue

Healthcare institutions in Canada are looking to the data in their care as a valuable resource that can be leveraged to support research and innovation and generate revenue.

INOVAIT, Sunnybrook Research Institute, has embarked on a program to unlock data for Canadian companies developing AI technologies with direct and profound implications for patient health and clinical practice.

INOVAIT’s new framework, Data Mobilization, outlines principles to guide safe, ethical, and trustworthy health data licensing in Canada.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• Explore the origins and impacts of Canadian healthcare’s hesitation to share data with commercial partners for technology development.

• Learn about a recently released framework by INOVAIT for Canadian healthcare institutions to confidently and responsibly engage in the licensing of health data.

• Understand how responsible health data licensing can yield innovations addressing the pressing needs of patients, improve methods for treatment and diagnosis of disease, and become a valuable revenue stream for reinvestment into healthcare institutions to ultimately improve healthcare.

With budgets shrinking and becoming more uncertain, the need to find innovative ways to generate alternative sources of income is necessary. From building innovative tech hubs in partnership with universities to renting out space for other services, there are many ways to add new income streams to your organization.

This panel will discuss some of the lessons they learned along the way, and how healthcare organizations can tap into some unrealized revenue opportunities.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• Setting expectations
• Balancing risks with opportunities
• Leveraging your local partners
• Where is the best place to start, and how best to assess your unique position in the market
• What can you expect in terms of revenue, and how much risk is involved
• What are the limits to what you can do
• How to work with your boards and executive leadership to create buy in
• How to engage entrepreneurs, and outside talent to create those win-wins

With higher costs and unstable funding from Ministries, hospitals and other healthcare organizations must innovate to enhance patient care, expand services, and remain financially sustainable.

However, securing funding for business development initiatives can be challenging, requiring a strategic approach that aligns with institutional goals and market opportunities. This session will explore various funding sources, from traditional financing and philanthropic contributions to public-private partnerships and value-based care investments.

Key Sesson Takeaways Include:

• Diversifying Funding Sources: Understand the role of grants, private equity, hospital foundations, and government programs in financing new initiatives.
• Building a Strong Business Case: Strategies to align hospital initiatives with financial, clinical, and community benefits to secure stakeholder buy-in.
• Craft compelling business cases and leverage financial strategies to support sustainable hospital growth.

Why This and Why Now?

In the rapidly evolving landscape of Canadian healthcare, the power of collaboration and innovation has become increasingly crucial. This panel brings together a diverse group of health system experts from across Canada to explore the transformative potential and inherent challenges of integrating innovation into our publicly funded healthcare system. 

As we enter a new era of healthcare in Canada, hospitals and health authorities face unprecedented opportunities and complex hurdles. This session will delve into how these institutions can effectively respond to the changing dynamics, leveraging collaborative approaches to drive meaningful innovation while navigating the intricacies of public funding and regulatory frameworks. 

Our distinguished panel represents a cross-section of health leaders from various regions and sectors of Canada’s healthcare system. They will share insights on successful collaborations that have already yielded positive outcomes, unpacking the key drivers that enabled these achievements. By examining these case studies, we aim to identify replicable strategies and best practices that can be adapted across different healthcare settings.

The discussion will focus on several critical areas:

• The role of public-private partnerships in accelerating healthcare innovation and it’s effect on bottom line hospital finances
• Strategies for overcoming bureaucratic barriers to implement new technologies and processes
• Balancing innovation with the need for equitable access to healthcare services

Healthcare delivery can no longer be business as usual.  

The Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub is dedicated to exactly this. A first-of-its-kind centre of excellence for health research and innovation in Atlantic Canada, we’re leading healthcare thinking to deliver better solutions for patients and providers.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• Dealing with early-stage development and the need for expertise and patience

• The role of the HUB and its impact on financing healthcare locally and beyond

• Lessons learned from the first year, from working with industry and foundations – and expected next steps

The financial challenges BC faces are similar to most jurisdictions. The requirement to move beyond the single financing model is becoming more apparent, and while there are guardrails in what can be accomplished, there are many viable options if you are thinking creatively.

Fraser Health has embarked on many fronts and shows some successes. They are still in the early stages of most of their initiatives, but by taking a long-term, considered approach, there is a great opportunity on the horizon.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• How to bring some services and offerings inhouse, such as parking and nutrition, has begun to show success

• The importance of planning out for future development when building new wings and hospitals – understand what future partners/tenants will need and want

• How their future planning for new campuses will include community development, with low-cost housing for staff, child care, and clinics

• What P3 models have been created, and what have we learned from them

• Finding partners for tech and AI – looking now at its impact on cost savings as opposed to revenue generation

Hospitals have long turned to retail opportunities to boost revenue. But how to maximize this opportunity and create enticing experiences for patients as well should be your future considerations. 

This session explores how there are various options to structure your retail operations, and how to leverage and build partnerships with the community.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• Explore how St. Joseph’s Health Care London structured their operation, and how revenue flows through their internal system to support patient care and capital program initiatives

• Discover how leveraging local colleges and volunteers contribute to lower costs

• Learn what the next steps are in continuing to grow their retail operations