2025 Agenda

Tariffs and global supply chains have remained a troubling trend, upending confidence and costs.

With inflation increasing, and rates staying low, financing is less expensive.

These are just some of the macro events taking shape that will impact budgets and your ability to effectively manage your organization’s finances.

Gain a big picture of the economic headwinds so that you can assess the risks and prepare for coming years.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• Gain the latest insight into the macro trends that affect provincial and federal budgets to deliver on their funding models?
• What trends are we seeing on interest rates and economic outlook in the near term, and how will they impact capital financing projects over the next several years?
• How should hospital finance leaders plan under current budgetary pressures
• What good news are we seeing on the horizon, and how will that impact future plans

As financial pressures mount across healthcare systems, the urgency to address sustainability has never been greater.

This growing urgency prompts a closer look at the underlying factors including:

• Exploring the key drivers behind the urgency to address the financial sustainability of healthcare systems including rising service demand, inflationary cost pressures, and evolving demographic shifts.
• Examine how systems nationwide are responding through structural reforms, digital innovation, and operational transformation.
• Finally, we will cover the critical enablers of long-term sustainability including performance-based funding models, strategic resource management, and enhanced accountability mechanisms that look beyond the current fiscal year.

CIHI collects a wide range of data from Canadian healthcare organizations, including both financial and clinical data. They also produce measures and information that are comparable and bring both financial and clinical data together to understand trends in the context of patient complexity, hospital characteristics, and other factors.   

This session will explore comparable information at CIHI to understand trends in efficiency and spending in Canadian hospitals.

Some of the publicly available information I will be highlighting includes:

• Cost of a Standard Hospital Stay indicator
• Hospital Spending data tables
• Patient Cost Estimator

Cash flow management is becoming increasingly vital as hospitals and health systems struggle with budget deficits.

Understanding the challenges facing healthcare organizations, Mastercard recently published a whitepaper in partnership with EY that reinforces the value of connecting commerce and the healthcare industry.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• Improved working capital through quicker access to funds – net payment terms are reduced by an average of 30 days
• Revenue Cycle Management optimization and Hospital Information System(HIS)  interoperability 
• Streamlined accounts receivable processes – an electronic remittance of data is issued
• Reduction of delays, fraud and costs to receive a cheque
• Driving efficiency through security solutions, from digital identity verification to third party cyber risk monitoring to payments and healthcare fraud detection

Interest rates are holding steady, though they remain subject to some volatility. And with steel tariffs still in place, and uncertain tariffs across the board, combined with a shortage of labour in the construction trades leading to higher wages, many financing costs are taking a toll on building new infrastructure projects.

With every aspect of construction becoming more , how are financial leaders coping with the added challenges?

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• What financing options are making the most sense right now?
• How are different organizations creating accounting opportunities to fund new capital projects?
• Managing conflicts and defects, and strategies for escalating when and where necessary

With rising costs, staffing shortages, and shifting priorities, healthcare organizations across Canada are under increasing pressure to do more with limited resources. Join in the discussion as we explore practical strategies to stabilize finances within current provincial and federal funding structures.

The panelists will share some of their insights on cost containment, optimizing operational efficiency, and leveraging available public and philanthropic funding without compromising care quality.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• Identify operational levers to reduce waste, streamline services, and boost productivity
• Leverage bundled payments, alternative funding models, and service redesign to unlock financial flexibility
• Position your organization as a high-impact partner for public, private, and philanthropic investment

Adequate funding continues to affect all hospital systems, but small and rural hospitals face added pressures. This has led to a focus to source unique opportunities.

This session explores how Canadian hospitals can strategically leverage pilot programs, nurture key relationships, and form impactful partnerships to not only enhance patient care but also position themselves as attractive candidates for provincial and federal funding.

Key Session Takeaways Include:

• Accelerating innovation with low-risk pilots to implement small-scale programs that allow your hospital to test new technologies or care models before broader adoption
• Strengthening regional influence and build enduring partnerships to expand services and visibility.
• Attracting sustainable funding by aligning with Ministry goals and showcasing a measurable impact and cost savings

This session will explore Manitoba’s journey toward modernizing healthcare financial systems, highlighting challenges and current landscape.

Delveing into Enterprise Resource Planning modernization, what the modernization will accomplish and Manitoba’s implementation challenges.

Emphasizing the importance of standardization and budgeting tools and discusses the potential role of AI in enhancing healthcare finance operations.

Join us for a discussion on:

• Approaches to standardize information systems across hospitals
• Managing operating costs and system expansion
• Measuring efficiencies gained from new information systems