Canada's Health Informatics Association

COACH is a not-for-profit association dedicated to promoting a clear understanding of health informatics within the Canadian health system through education, information, networking and communication.

COACH was formed in 1975 by several health professionals and vendors in the medical industry, who recognized that significant sharing of ideas and efforts must take place in order to enable Canadian health institutions to effectively use information technology and systems. The focus, 30 years later, has expanded to include not only the technology and the systems, but also the effective use of health information for decision-making. The association vision is Taking Health Informatics Mainstream.

COACH has a membership of 1,500 individuals who range from healthcare executives, physicians, nurses and allied health professionals, researchers and educators to CIOs, information managers, technical experts, consultants, and information technology vendors. Organizations represented cover the full range of healthcare service delivery, government and non-government agencies, consulting firms, commercial providers of information and telecommunications technologies, and educational institutions.

COACH believes in the importance and the value of strategic alliances with other organizations involved in the field of health informatics in Canada and internationally. It is committed to building a strong international network in health informatics through international organizations such as the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA), and other national associations around the world. COACH is pleased to be Canada's official representative to IMIA.

COACH is the resource for the health informatics industry in Canada!

History
In 1975, several health professionals and vendors involved in health information technology recognized that significant sharing of ideas and efforts must take place in order to enable Canadian health institutions to effectively use information systems. They also recognized that little of the pioneering work in healthcare informatics under way throughout North America and Europe was known or available to the Canadian Healthcare community. As a result, the Canadian Organization for Advancement of Computers in Health, (COACH) was formed.

COACH's charter Executive Board consisted of: President, Steven A. Huesing, Misericordia Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta; Vice-President, Robert E. Zuckerman, IBM Canada, Toronto, Ontario; Secretary, Denis J. Protti, St. Boniface Hospital, Winnipeg, Manitoba; Treasurer, Vernon J. Shipley, Atlantic Blue Cross, Moncton, New Brunswick; Publications Chairman, Robert Palmer, Government of Saskatchewan; and Program Chairman, Marie Barrett, Government of Ontario.

COACH was formed as a user group of information and information technology in Healthcare, independent of any vendor, government, or organizational affiliation. Its purpose was, and is, to create a forum for the exchange of ideas, concepts, and developments relative to information and information technology as it applies to the Canadian healthcare environment.

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