At the initiative of Québec International, the eighth annual Quebec City Healthcare Industry Forum (FISQ) will be held on December 2. This daylong event will bring together key stakeholders from this vitally important sector, including clinicians, professionals, healthcare system managers, industrialists, researchers and experts. The attendees will be pursuing a shared goal: to find solutions in which innovation is genuinely placed at the service of Quebecers' health.
FISQ 2014 will be held at Québec City Convention Centre in conjunction with the second annual Healthcare Innovation Week. Now more than ever, the presence of these key events confirms that Quebec City is one of the province's leading life science hubs.
The program of activities will address one central theme: "From Innovation to Integration in the Healthcare System: Adopting a Patient-Oriented Perspective". A roster of experts will discuss a variety of issues, including how to better integrate technologies in the healthcare system. The speakers will also consider the following questions: Can innovation save a system that is approaching the breaking point? What do Quebecers think of information technology as a healthcare tool?
Topping the agenda will be the question of new patient-oriented research models facilitating on-site evaluations (known as living labs) and new partnership models for integrating and paying back innovation. Emphasis will also be placed on improving healthcare system performance by involving patients via IT. During the morning, the findings of CROP's exclusive survey will be announced. Entitled "Are Patients Ready for the 2.0 Experience?", this survey was initiated by TELUS Health in collaboration with Diabetes Quebec.
"Quebec's healthcare system is at a turning point. Profound changes will be required. If we want to ensure greater efficiency, it is imperative that we embrace innovation. Our task is to come up with models that successfully incorporate new technologies while fostering stronger links between scientists, industrialists and the healthcare system with a view to benefiting patients and society as a whole. But how do we do this? That is the question our guest speakers will be addressing throughout the Forum," said Carl Viel, CEO of Québec International.
Some 20 experts are scheduled to speak at this indispensable event, including representatives from the corporate sector, as well as from major organizations such as the Quebec Research Fund (FRQ), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Quebec Institute of Healthcare and Social Services Excellence (INESSS), the Quebec Public Health Institute (INSPQ), the Patient-Oriented Research Support Unit (Unité SUPPORT), the Interuniversity Centre for Organizational Analysis Research (CIRANO), Angus Medical Clinic, Merck Canada, Rx&D, TELUS Health, BMS, Uniprix and the survey firm CROP.
The issues raised will be taken up by a panel of experts who will outline various follow-up projects and initiatives to be implemented in the coming years, thus laying the groundwork for a program of concerted action.
The panel members will include:
- Dr. Renaldo Battista, M.D., Science Director, Quebec Research Fund (FRQ)
- Ghislain Boudreau, Vice-President, Public Affairs, Pfizer
- Luc Castonguay, Assistant Deputy Minister, Planning, Performance and Quality Branch (DGPPQ), Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS)
- Diane Côté, CEO, MEDTEQ
- Véronique Déry, Chief Scientist, INESSS
- Dr. Michel Hébert, Medical Director, TELUS Health
- Jean Légaré, Patient/User Community Representative
SECOND ANNUAL HEALTHCARE INNOVATION WEEK
In addition to FISQ 2014, a number of other events will be held in conjunction with the second annual Healthcare Innovation Week (HIW), which will run from December 1-3 at the Québec City Convention Centre. To mark the kick-off on December 1, Québec International and the Quebec Health Alliance cordially invite all HIW participants to attend the opening night presentation paying tribute to Pierre Lavoie, whose formidable social project combines the power of science with calls for mobilization and action. Quebec's Minister of Health and Social Services, Gaétan Barrette, and the Minister of Labour with Responsibility for the Quebec City Region, Sam Hamad, are both slated to attend on opening night.
Earlier in the day on December 1, a series of simultaneous activities focusing on specific issues will be held. They include a workshop on life sciences law and pharmaceutical law presented by Norton Rose Fulbright and a discussion panel addressing public awareness of biotechnologies and the life sciences, organized by BioQuébec. Science Day, organized by the Quebec City Healthcare Alliance (ASQ), will cap off HIW on December 3. The ASQ is planning a major sustainable health research project and will be discussing the related benefits for the Quebec City region.
ABOUT THE EIGHTH QUEBEC CITY HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY FORUM
FISQ provides a prime opportunity for networking and contacts between business people, healthcare network managers, researchers and clinicians. The 2014 edition is made possible through the support of the following partners: AstraZeneca, Genome Quebec, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, MEDTEQ, Medtronic, Merck, Pfizer, Rx&D, Sanofi, Servier and TELUS Health.
