Sue Schneider: Lifelong Learning and Innovation in Health Information

As Sue Schneider reflects on her life and career, four words come to mind: a love of learning. Whether her passion for learning originated from growing up in a family rooted in education and hands-on experiences, lifelong learning is clearly the motivating factor that has shaped Sue’s ability to adapt and transform the health care system.

Sue’s upbringing in Eastern Ontario was filled with learning opportunities. “My dad was the kind of person who would teach himself how to do something if he didn’t know it, and my mom, who grew up with a mechanic father, was incredibly handy herself,” Sue explains.

While Sue’s father ignited her passion for technology, her summer job at a medical clinic directed her toward health information management. Working alongside eleven physicians from various specialties, she rotated through different roles each summer. These experiences provided her with a solid understanding of how health care operates, particularly the importance of information flow within a clinical setting.

This experience eventually led Sue to pursue higher education at Western University in London, Ontario, where she focused on information systems. “The courses on clinical decision support further sparked my interest in health information management,” she recalls. After completing her degree, she sought additional certification in health information management, which ultimately led her to the field of health informatics, where she has made a significant impact.

Sue’s commitment to making health data accessible, intuitive, and integrated across systems has become a central theme of her career. As her expertise grew, so did her role in leading digital health standards at the provincial level, focusing on how data can best support health care professionals and improve patient outcomes.

Sue’s dedication to health data standards, particularly terminology standards like SNOMED CT (Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine – Clinical Terms), has been a significant focus of her work. These standards enable clinical data to be represented in a way that is readable and understandable by both health care professionals and computers, ensuring a more consistent and reliable exchange of information.

 “Computers aren’t going to figure this out on their own,” she says. “They need humans to guide them, and the right data standards make this possible.”

As such, Sue’s work has included significant contributions to the adoption and implementation of these standards within Canada’s health care system. Her vision is clear: she wants a future where health information is no longer siloed but flows seamlessly between providers and patients, eliminating the barriers that often complicate care today.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Sue takes pride in her role as a mentor. Over her 38-year career, she has guided countless students and colleagues, sharing her knowledge and passion for health information. “I love to learn, and I love to share what I’ve learned with others,” she says. Whether through writing professional briefs, contributing chapters to textbooks, or presenting at conferences, Sue encourages her mentees to engage in lifelong learning. “I want them to know that you can learn just about anything you want to learn, and there’s always something to discover,” Sue explains. For Sue, mentorship is about more than just passing on knowledge—it’s about fostering a love for learning in others.

“I want to be remembered for making a meaningful contribution to how digital health standards can support both patients and health care professionals,” she says. With her passion, dedication, and drive, Sue Schneider will undoubtedly succeed in integrating people, information, and systems.

Biography

Sue Schneider, BA, CHIM, CPHIMS-CA, CTSS, is the Director of Digital Health Standards at Ontario Health. With over 38 years of experience in health information and informatics across various sectors, she specializes in health informatics standards, focusing on improving digital health interoperability and accessibility. Sue chairs Ontario Health’s Digital Health Interoperability Standards Committee and is a recognized author, mentor, and lecturer, having received awards from Canada Health Infoway and the Canadian Health Information Management Association. She holds a BA from Western University and several certifications in health information and informatics.