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Press Release
July 4, 2007
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Intensive “Bootcamp” held providing a comprehensive
overview of Health Informatics
WATERLOO, Ont. (Wednesday, July 4, 2007) -- Recognizing the need
for competent professionals in the emerging field of Applied Health
Informatics, the Waterloo Institute for Health Informatics Research
(WIHIR) recently held another of its two-day intensive “Bootcamps”
in Applied Health Informatics. The Bootcamp was held at the University
of Waterloo, long recognized as the most innovative university in
Canada.
The speakers included Dominic Covvey, Founding Director of WIHIR,
Brendan Seaton, eHealth Risk Management Specialist and Don Newsham,
CEO of COACH, Canada’s Heath Informatics Association.
COACH has promoted and participated in these Bootcamps since day
one. “We support the Bootcamps because we are committed to
education for Health Informatics professionals and building Health
Informatics capacity in Canada” says Don Newsham, CEO of COACH. “This
latest one was, for me, though, a real highlight, as we had a chance
to present our new COACH developments to a very enthusiastic audience”,
remarked Don, “What a great program for learning about our Health
Informatics discipline!”
Health Informatics is an interdisciplinary area that develops,
extends and applies concepts from computer science, information
science, telecommunications and other disciplines with the goal of
improving the effectiveness and efficiency of health care. There is a
continuing need in Canada for thousands of professionals to enter the
e-health workforce. The Bootcamp targets the high profile areas and
points the participants in the direction of deeper explorations in HI.
Topics that were addressed included: Managing Risk in the Digital
Enterprise, “Intelligent” Health Systems, Health
Communications, the Health User Interface and Interactive Systems,
among many others.
“Every aspect of the two days was a rewarding and rich experience.”
said Linda Yetman, the Director of Clinical Practice Consulting at
Healthtech Inc., one of the attendees. “The design of the
workshop compels me to tell others about this educational opportunity
in this emerging field. I really appreciate the take away materials as
well as the offer of continued online work.” She further stated
that “The opportunity to connect with others in this specialty was
also appreciated.”
The Bootcamp appeals to both neophytes and those seasoned in
e-health settings by introducing key concepts and applications. The
Bootcamp features a 2-day onsite program and follow-up online modules
(about 70 hours of material involving over 30 speakers) that explore
topics in greater depth. In both the onsite and the online program,
attendees explore areas of interest in the field and clarify questions
by actively participating in discussions. The recent Bootcamp is the
latest offering in a highly regarded and well-attended series held in
Waterloo, Toronto and Edmonton.
The UW Bootcamp’s Gold sponsors were Agfa Healthcare and
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. Bronze sponsors were 3M and Emergis and
Contributors included ORMED, HealthTech Inc., COACH, CHITTA, ITAC,
eHealthRisk, and Deloitte. The Media Sponsor was Healthcare
Information Management & Communications Canada.
The Waterloo Institute for Health Informatics Research (WIHIR) is
a trans-disciplinary collaboration that focuses its efforts on
research into new HI interventions (concepts, techniques, tools,
systems and methods) that enable information, information management,
and information and communications technologies to deliver the
greatest possible value in the health system.
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Contacts:
Shirley Fenton, WIHIR managing director, 519-888-4074
WIHIR Website: http://hi.uwaterloo.ca
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