|
What does it really take to build a connected healthcare system in Canada? This question anchored every session at the 21st TELUS Health Annual Conference. From legislative change in Nova Scotia to AI-powered tools reducing clinician burnout, the event offered a roadmap for how interoperability, when treated as a priority, can transform healthcare for patients and providers alike. |
As things stand, the need for connected care systems in Canada is at a critical juncture:
Achieving change, however, is sometimes easier said than done. As Dr. Kevin Brophy, family physician and digital health advocate, explains in our latest report, healthcare practitioners are “so busy putting out fires that we don’t have time to install sprinkler systems.”
Here’s a look at why data interoperability is the answer to these challenges, and what it means for connected care in Canada.
“We have a moral obligation to use the data we collect to improve care. It’s immoral not to use it for insight and analysis to build a better healthcare system in Canada.” Hon. Dr. Lyle Oberg, Executive Council of Alberta Health Services
Canada’s healthcare system can’t deliver the true value of connected care while data remains siloed across hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and insurers. What’s required is an interoperable infrastructure. That is: unified platforms that securely connect clinical, administrative, and even wellness data in real time.
As Dr. Oberg notes, we have a moral obligation in Canada to ensure data is accessible and actionable across the care continuum. When patients and providers are looking at the same information, clinical decisions improve, communication gets clearer, and patients gain agency over their care journeys. This allows every player in the care ecosystem to operate from the same source of truth and deliver the best possible care outcomes.
Nova Scotia has emerged as an example of what’s possible when policy, purpose, and technology align. The province is leading Canada’s first large-scale primary care interoperability initiative, and it’s reshaping how health data flows between patients, providers, and across the system itself.
Natalie Oake, Director of Enterprise Architecture and Digital Strategy at Nova Scotia Health, explains the importance of this initiative:
“Everything we have done on our journey is first and foremost driving towards the important Nova Scotian experience. And the work we have done for citizens will also translate to improving the provider experience.”
On July 3, 2024, new regulations in Nova Scotia mandated that regulated healthcare providers must share their data with the Minister of Health to be shared back with Nova Scotians. This legislative shift cemented citizen access as a core principle of the province’s health strategy, giving individuals the right to view, download, and control their own electronic medical records (EMRs).
It’s a bold move that empowers patients to take control of their healthcare journey. With anytime access to their records, Nova Scotians are quickly becoming active participants in their own care again. Patients are reviewing lab results before appointments, for example. They’re also identifying data gaps, raising concerns, and entering consultations with clinicians better informed.
Outside of Canada, countries like Estonia and Denmark are also leading in interoperability projects that connect care systems. Their citizens have anytime access to their health records, and they can communicate with care teams from a single digital platform, known as the “digital front door.”
When thoughtfully designed, the “digital front door” can simplify access, empower patients, and help reduce administrative burden for providers while simultaneously enabling more efficient, connected care across teams.
This is essentially where connected care begins. For it to succeed in the long-term, though, the underlying infrastructure supporting it must do three things:
Aligning these three components allows patients to navigate their own care journey with complete confidence and clarity.
Canada’s healthcare future won’t be defined by any single policy, platform, or profession. Instead, it’ll be defined by how well we work together for the betterment of patient and provider outcomes. Interoperable data systems are the connective tissue supporting this future.
To learn more about how data interoperability is the answer to connected care in Canada, contact our sales team here.
1. Tara Kiran et al, “Public experiences and perspectives of primary care in Canada: results from a cross-sectional survey,” Canadian Medical Association Journal, May 21, 2024, https://www.cmaj.ca/content/196/19/E646.
2. “Administrative Burden is Driving Physician Burnout, and Puts Access to Care at Risk.” Canadian Medical Association, https://www.cma.ca/our-focus/administrative-burden/facts.
3. “Proof Point: Canada Needs More Doctors—and Fast.” RBC Thought Leadership, Nov 23, 2022, https://thoughtleadership.rbc.com/proof-point-canada-needs-more-doctors-and-fast/.
4. Nøhr C, Parv L, Kink P, Cummings E, Almond H, Nørgaard JR, Turner P, “Nationwide citizen access to their health data: analysing and comparing experiences in Denmark, Estonia and Australia,” BMC Health Serv Res. Aug 7, 2017, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5547535/.