Make Evidence Work Where You Are: Translating Complex Information into Local, Practical Action

Health systems are inundated with guidelines, literature, and emerging technologies—but most evidence isn’t ready-made for your local context. Leaders still need to interpret multiple sources, reconcile conflicting recommendations, and integrate internal data to make decisions that work for their patients, teams, and constraints.

This session shows how to bridge that gap, including a practical, real-world use case example that demonstrates what effective evidence translation looks like in practice.

Learn about structured, evidence-informed approaches to convert complex information into actionable insights that support clinical care, operations, and system-level planning—no matter your setting, resources, or starting point.

You’ll learn how to:

• Translate complex evidence into clear, usable insights to support planning and decision-making
• Integrate internal data with published literature and guidelines to inform local care, operations, and outcomes
• Adapt national or global guidance to local realities—including resources, constraints, and operational workflows
• Support shared decision-making across clinical and operational teams
• Communicate uncertainty and limitations through approaches that build trust and clarity

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Why It Matters

Canadian health organizations face workforce shortages, rising patient acuity, tight budgets, and regional resource variation, making even strong evidence hard to apply. Without context, teams struggle with dense guidelines, inconsistent data use, siloed decisions, and delays that limit performance and safety. This webinar shows how to translate evidence into actionable insights, helping leaders make confident decisions grounded in both what’s known and what’s applicable locally.

Reserve Your Spot

Join us to learn a practical, repeatable approach to making evidence work in your specific environment, helping teams move faster, reduce uncertainty, and make decisions with confidence.

Who Should Attend

Professionals in Canadian hospitals and providers, as well as federal and provincial health authorities and ministries of health, including:

• Clinicians working in acute care and community care settings
• Medical librarians responsible for ensuring access to, and the curation of, trusted clinical evidence
• Innovation analysts and advisors who evaluate new technologies and guide adoption within health systems
• Quality and safety consultants and educators, and operational managers and frontline budget holders who support implementation of leadership priorities
• Policy and decision-makers within federal and provincial ministries of health responsible for shaping health system priorities
• Health authority and government officials involved in developing, updating, or curating health policy decisions

Speakers

Tara Klassen, PhD
Innovation Lead: Surgical Care Alberta, Acute Care Alberta

Dr. Tara Klassen is a nationally recognized translational scientist with over 25 years of experience leading health-focused research across Canada. She currently serves as Innovation Lead for Surgical Care Alberta, where she guides evidence-based decisions in the perioperative space and leads both the Evidence Decision Support Program (EDSP) and the Provincial Advisory Council on Device Innovation (PACODI). With a PhD from the University of Alberta and over $11 million in active grant funding, Tara has authored publications in Cell, Science Translational Medicine, and Epilepsia, and has received multiple honours—including the Brandon University Outstanding Young Alumni Award, the University of Alberta Excellence in Teaching Award, and the Cumming School of Medicine's Service to People and Partners Award—for her contributions to research, teaching, and health system innovation.

Vijayalakshmi Iyer, PhD
Research Analyst III, Clinical Evidence, ECRI

Dr. Vijayalakshmi Iyer is a senior  analyst in the Clinical Evidence group at ECRI. She evaluates clinical data on health technologies and synthesizes complex evidence into clear assessments to support healthcare systems in making evidence-informed decisions. Dr. Iyer holds a PhD in Microbiology from Kansas State University, has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications, and has received several awards for excellence in molecular biology and scientific communication. Her earlier career includes postdoctoral work in bacterial genetics and phage therapeutics, medical writing across diverse therapeutic areas, and an internship in scientific technology assessment at The Wistar Institute, experience that underpins her strength in translating complex science into practical insights.