Interoperability in healthcare is vital to connect the seemingly isolated silos of physicians, labs, imaging, emergency rooms and community services. So far, technology has failed to provide the solution that many healthcare professionals have long been waiting for, and systems often remain more reactive than proactive, with poorly structured feedback loops.
This publication presents the proceedings of FHLIP 2026, the latest in the series of Future of Health Leadership, Informatics and Policy conferences, held on 20 February 2026 in Toronto, Canada. The conference brought together a diverse community of patients, academics, clinicians, policymakers, students, and industry leaders to explore how the transition from isolated efforts to a truly connected and patient-centered system can be achieved. Can intelligent, interoperable systems make it possible to address this critical systemic imperative? The conference received a total of 47 submissions, 22 of which were accepted for full presentation after a rigorous peer-review process, with a further 15 accepted as ‘Laptop Talks’. The papers reflect the urgency of the interoperability challenge, and are divided into 4 thematic sections:optimizing clinical workflows and decision support; care coordination across settings; theory and practice of system integration; and laptalk themes.
With a focus on the digital health policies which could be the catalysts needed to realize the vision of weaving disconnected information into a seamless flow that will deliver the right insights to the right team at the right time for every patient, this volume will be of interest to healthcare providers and policymakers everywhere.
