Sponsored Sessions 2026

8:00 A.M. – 8:30 A.M.

How much of what physicians earn never reaches them? Underbilling is a financial issue rooted in time pressures, complexity, and the uncertainty physicians experience throughout the billing process. Every day, physicians deliver care that is never fully billed.

A complex visit documented as a routine one. A counselling conversation billed at the lowest applicable code. A procedure performed but not itemized. Individually, these moments seem small. Together, they add up to an estimated $1 billion in earned revenue that disappears for Canadian physicians every year.

Drawing on findings from Dr.Bill’s inaugural 2026 Canadian Physician Financial Health Survey, this session explores how the right combination of technology and human expertise can help close the gap between care delivered and revenue collected. Physicians can spend less time pursuing payments and more time caring for patients and focusing on their personal lives.Participants will leave with a practical framework for identifying their own underbilling patterns, a clear view of the technology that can help, and a new definition of efficiency.

Presented by:

Chris Foster, General Manager, Dr.Bill

Room: Ballroom A (Plenary Room)

12:20 p.m. to 1:05 p.m.

Clinical practice has made significant progress in digitizing the patient encounter through the EMR. However, the work that occurs before and after the visit, including forms, patient requests, communication, tracking and administrative follow-up, often remains fragmented across disconnected systems and manual processes.

This session presents a practical framework for redesigning these workflows by identifying opportunities to standardize, automate, delegate or shift tasks to asynchronous processes, while keeping clinical workflow, rather than technology, at the centre of the approach.

Presented by:

John O’Mahony, MD, Family Physician, Medical Director, Trillium Villa and Twin Lakes Nursing Homes; Lead Physician, Sarnia FHO

Room: Ballroom A (Plenary Room)

2:10 to 2:40 p.m.

What does it take to automate front-office operations, and how can a clinic determine whether a vendor is the right fit?

This moderated panel features clinic leaders and physicians who have implemented automation in their practices. Panelists will discuss what their front-office operations looked like before automation, including fax management, phone queue and intake backlog. They will share how they evaluated vendors, what approaches did not work and what changed following implementation.

The discussion focuses on practical lessons learned, including challenges and setbacks. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of the questions to ask vendors, the warning signs to watch for and what to expect from a realistic implementation in a Canadian clinic.

Learning objectives

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Evaluate front-office automation vendors against a set of non-negotiables and red flags drawn from real procurement experience.
Identify the operational conditions (workflow ownership, EMR integration, staff buy-in) that determine whether a tool succeeds or is quietly abandoned after go-live.
Apply practical measures such as referral turnaround time, call volume, and staff hours reclaimed to assess the impact of automation in their own clinic.

Panelists:

Jeff Chan, Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer, Inference Health
David Zhao, Co-founder and CEO Inference Health
Peter Phua, MD, Family Physician. Optimal Health

Moderator: TBD

Room: 200 ABC

2:10 to 2:40 p.m.

Canadian medicine was built around scarcity. Scarce time, scarce clinicians, scarce beds. Almost every workflow currently in place was created to address that constraint, and most come at the expense of a resource that is already in short supply: time.

Family physicians report 19 hours a week on paperwork. One in five Canadians does not have a family physician.

Dr. Sameer Shaikh starts with what has already changed. A Toronto emergency department is seeing 10% to 13% more patients per physician per shift. Cambridge North Dumfries OHT is saving 11 minutes per clinician per visit, with 90% reporting less stress and burnout. The Ottawa Institute of CBT cut documentation from 213 minutes a week to 71. Real sites, measured results, Canadian conditions.

Next up? Augmented and agentic care.

Effective clinical care is not simply a documentation challenge. It depends on informed decision-making. Heidi Evidence delivers answers to clinical questions at the point of care, with clinical evidence guiding the information presented and no commercial influence on the recommendations provided.

Heidi Remote lifts the work off the screen and puts you back across from the patient, which changes the visit itself. Heidi’s AI agents complete the task behind the note: the referral, the form, the order, the follow-up. Capacity does not come from writing faster. It comes from work that finishes itself.

Safety, privacy, and security are not the disclaimer slide at the end of an AI talk. They are the reason a clinician trusts the output at all. Dr. Shaikh walks through how Heidi handles consent and PHIPA, how the product is studied rather than asserted, and why the augmented clinician of tomorrow only arrives if today’s tool takes no shortcuts.

Learning objectives

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Evaluate front-office automation vendors against a set of non-negotiables and red flags drawn from real procurement experience.
Identify the operational conditions (workflow ownership, EMR integration, staff buy-in) that determine whether a tool succeeds or is quietly abandoned after go-live.
Apply practical measures such as referral turnaround time, call volume, and staff hours reclaimed to assess the impact of automation in their own clinic.

Presented by:

Sameer Shaikh, MD, ER and Critical Care Physician, Canadian Clinical Director, Heidi

Room: 201 ABC

2:10 to 2:40 p.m.

What if the EMR became something clinicians barely had to touch?

AI scribes started by solving one problem: documentation. But the bigger opportunity is to move beyond the note entirely.

This session explores QuickChart’s jounrey in building a new model for clinical technology: the EMR as the system of record, with AI becoming the system of work.

Using real-world examples, we’ll show how ambient scribing can evolve into an end-to-end AI layer spanning pre-visit intake, chart preparation, telehealth, documentation, form completion, follow-up, and other clinical workflows.

Learning objectives

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Recognize how AI scribes can evolve into end-to-end clinical workflow platforms.
Identify opportunities for AI-native intake, telehealth, forms, follow-up, and documentation to reduce EMR burden.
Evaluate a future model where the EMR remains the system of record while AI becomes the primary layer through which clinicians work.

Presented by:

Mahshid Yassaei CEO and Co-Founder, Tali AI.

Room: 205 AB

2:10 to 2:40 p.m.

AI scribes started by solving one problem: documentation. But the bigger opportunity is to move beyond the note entirely.

This session explores QuickChart’s jounrey in building a new model for clinical technology: the EMR as the system of record, with AI becoming the system of work.

Using real-world examples, we’ll show how ambient scribing can evolve into an end-to-end AI layer spanning pre-visit intake, chart preparation, telehealth, documentation, form completion, follow-up, and other clinical workflows.

Learning objectives

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Recognize how AI scribes can evolve into end-to-end clinical workflow platforms.
Identify opportunities for AI-native intake, telehealth, forms, follow-up, and documentation to reduce EMR burden.
Evaluate a future model where the EMR remains the system of record while AI becomes the primary layer through which clinicians work.

Presented by:

Joel Moktar, MD, Orthopaedic Surgeon, Associate Professor, NOSM University, Co-Founder, QuickChart Inc.

Room: 206 AB

3:05 p.m. to 3:35 p.m.

For decades, the EMR’s job was documentation, a system of record clinicians updated after the fact. That’s changing fast. This session explores three phases of AI adoption in primary care technology: automation that reduces administrative burden; embedded AI that supports clinical decision-making within workflows physicians already use; and an emerging agentic layer that transforms the EMR from an internal tool into the foundation of a broader ecosystem that connects with other systems, applications and AI agents.

Drawing on real market signals and Ontario’s own procurement direction, this talk offers a practical view based on TELUS Health’s own experience of where EMR platforms are at today and where they’re headed. The goal is to leave room for a discussion on what that means for the future of health practice in Ontario.

Presented by:

Aaron Brady, Director Product Manager EMR’s at TELUS Health

Room: 200 ABC

3:05 p.m. to 3:35 p.m.

For decades, the EMR’s job was documentation, a system of record clinicians updated after the fact. That’s changing fast. This session explores three phases of AI adoption in primary care technology: automation that reduces administrative burden; embedded AI that supports clinical decision-making within workflows physicians already use; and an emerging agentic layer that transforms the EMR from an internal tool into the foundation of a broader ecosystem that connects with other systems, applications and AI agents.

Drawing on real market signals and Ontario’s own procurement direction, this talk offers a practical view based on TELUS Health’s own experience of where EMR platforms are at today and where they’re headed. The goal is to leave room for a discussion on what that means for the future of health practice in Ontario.

Presented by:

Paul Casey, President, Clinical Platform Group, WELLSTAR Technologies

Room: 201 ABC

3:05 p.m. to 3:35 p.m.

Self-driving cars have a five-level autonomy scale. Your EMR has never been rated on it, which is probably why it’s still at Level 0: you do everything, it watches. Family physicians Dr. Mike Forseth and Dr. Matt Henschke, founders of Ava EMR, apply the autonomy ladder to clinical work, from ambient documentation to an EMR that handles the chart so you can focus on the patient.

Bring your skepticism. We’ll bring the popcorn.

Presented by:

Mike Forseth, MD, Family Physician, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer
Matt Henschke, MD, Co-Founder, President and Chief Visionary Officer

Room: 205 ABC

3:05 p.m. to 3:35 p.m.

TBA

Presented by:

TBA

Room: 206 ABC

8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.

Despite significant progress in digitizing Canada’s health-care system, most physicians still work in data silos because of ongoing challenges with digital health interoperability and connected care.

Clinicians often cannot access all the health information they need to provide optimal patient care. This gap can create patient safety risks and increase the administrative burden on physicians. Multiple provincial, territorial and national studies have highlighted these challenges.

As Canada moves toward digital health interoperability legislation through Bill S-5, what will family physicians and other community-based clinicians need to thrive? Tools such as AI scribes show considerable promise, as demonstrated by Canada Health Infoway’s national AI Scribe investment program. However, solving interoperability challenges will require more than AI-powered tools. The barriers are not solely technological.

The CMA, CFPC, RCPSC and Canada Health Infoway established a physician-led task force to identify the conditions needed for clinicians to work to their full potential in a digitally connected health-care environment. This session will explore the potential of current and emerging AI-powered tools and examine the changes needed to help physicians and other clinicians succeed in an interoperable health-care system. Participants will also have an opportunity to share their perspectives on the future of connected care in Canada.

This session will:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Review key findings from Canada Health Infoway’s national AI Scribe program evaluation
Describe the next phase of the physician-led Digital Health Interoperability Task Force and its role in supporting interoperability policy and legislative change
Engage attendees on shaping a minimum set of conditions that would allow family physicians and other community-based clinicians to participate in a future, interoperable digital health environment

Presented by: Canada Health Infoway

Room: Ballroom A (Plenary Room)

12:15 to 1:00 p.m.

Healthcare technology has had a long history of over-promising and under-delivering when it comes to new digital innovations. Will AI tools be any different? In this session, we’ll discuss the current landscape, the risks, and a way forward to make the most of the new AI tools being offered to Ontario doctors.

Learning objectives

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Apply a framework to assess AI tools on safety, privacy, and usefulness in clinical practice
Know the key limitations of AI technology, and how to mitigate them
Leverage AI tools to improve efficiency, safety, and improve care

Presented by:

Mohammed Loubani, MD, Executive Director, Avaros Inc.

Room: Ballroom A (Plenary Room)

1:40 p.m. to 2:10 p.m.

Financial planning can help physicians make informed decisions about their financial future. This session provides an overview of financial planning fundamentals, including common financial account types, investment options and fee structures. Attendees will gain practical insights to help them better understand their choices and ask the right questions when evaluating financial strategies.

Presented by:

Sabbir Mahmud, CHS, LLQP, Insurance Advisor, OMA Insurance
Jason Cohen, LLQP, Insurance Advisor, OMA Insurance

Room: 206 CD

Digital Health Conference

Day one, Thursday, October 1

Day one breakfast spotlight session

Day one lunch spotlight session

Concurrent sponsored sessions (2:10 to 2:40 p.m.)

Learning objectives

Learning objectives

Learning objectives

Learning objectives

Concurrent sponsored sessions (3:05 to 3:35 p.m.)

Day two, Friday, October 2

Day two breakfast spotlight session

Day two lunch spotlight session

Learning objectives