Canada’s healthcare system is undergoing a rapid digital transformation that will reshape how patient data is shared and managed.

“Connected care” has the potential to deliver immense benefits for patients and health systems. But it’s essential to recognize that one-size-fits-all solutions do not address the nuanced needs of Canada’s physicians, who are at the forefront of delivering care in diverse environments across the country.

Physicians today face distinct regional challenges shaped by health systems with varying levels of digital maturity. To navigate this, we need to prioritize clinical leadership and support clinician-led initiatives that reflect the realities of practice on the ground. 

Many organizations and clinicians are already championing this. For example, Canada Health Infoway’s (Infoway) newly launched Centre for Clinical Innovation in Digital Health (CIDH) is dedicated to advancing clinician-driven solutions that address these challenges.

Take, for instance, the Connected Care Innovation Grant — one of CIDH’s flagship programs. This initiative provided up to $50,000 to clinical leaders from across Canada, championing grassroots projects that tackle interoperability challenges and advance connected care. The 10 successful grant recipients are located across the country and include three organizations serving Indigenous communities. The recipients operate in a variety of healthcare settings, including hospitals, provincial agencies, universities, clinics, and non-profit organizations, supporting patients in real-time, every day. The grants will support projects aimed at enhancing healthcare delivery and experience through technology, as well as improving access to critical health information for diverse populations.

Clinician-led solutions will always be a key driver of connected care, but achieving a truly integrated and patient-centered health system also requires bigger-picture strategies that go beyond individual projects.

A coordinated approach is needed that includes robust interoperability and alignment across the entire healthcare ecosystem. Interoperability — the ability of different health systems and platforms to seamlessly and securely exchange and use patient information — is the backbone of an effective digital health landscape. Without it, even the most innovative clinician-led solutions risk being isolated, limiting their impact and perpetuating inefficiencies.

This is why supporting clinician-driven initiatives, like those spearheaded through the CIDH, is so important. These initiatives provide practical, on-the-ground insights into what physicians and other healthcare providers need to optimize care, and highlight the kinds of interoperable solutions that can enhance their efforts. 

For example, projects funded through the Connected Care Innovation Grant aren’t just advancing care within individual clinics, they’re laying groundwork for broader, system-wide improvements by integrating with provincial and territorial health information systems, using pan-Canadian data exchange standards. This makes sure innovations don’t stay siloed, but instead are scalable, and can have widespread impact.

Achieving truly person-centred connected care requires collaboration at all levels of the healthcare system. That’s why national initiatives like the Digital Health Interoperability Task Force (DHITF), are essential for advancing solutions that benefit healthcare providers and patients alike. 

Created by Infoway, the Canadian Medical Association, the College of Family Physicians of Canada, and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the DHITF brings together experienced physician champions to identify barriers and propose system-level strategies for improving the current state of disconnected systems, as well as advancing interoperability in a way that improves patient care and simultaneously reduces the administrative burden on clinicians. The collective vision is to create a healthcare system where clinicians, patients, and care teams can seamlessly access the information they need to deliver and receive high-quality care. 

On November 18, the DHITF will release a set of tangible recommendations aimed at improving patient outcomes, reducing costs, and providing clinicians with the interoperable tools they need to succeed.

In tandem with physician-led grassroots solutions, these national thought leadership efforts can  bolster the momentum of a transformation in which technology, policy, and clinical practice align to support a connected care ecosystem. 

Together, they’ll enable a health system that both supports clinicians in using intuitive, digitally interoperable tools, and also provide a seamless, patient-centered experience, whereby health information follows the patient, not the other way around. 

By continuing to invest in clinician leadership and interoperability, we are laying the foundation for a more integrated and resilient healthcare system that serves every Canadian.

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Dr. Rashaad Bhyat is the Senior Clinical Leader for Canada Health Infoway