Connected Care in Action: Real Progress, Real Stories, Real Impact

A Longwoods Leadership Discussion presented in partnership with Canada Health Infoway

Healthcare in Canada is being reimagined — not in theory, but in practice.

Across clinics, communities, and systems, people are rethinking how care is delivered, how information is shared, and how technology can help close gaps instead of widening them. And at the heart of this transformation? Innovation. Not as a buzzword, but as an accelerant. It’s what turns bold ideas into better outcomes.

From AI tools that ease clinical workload, to Indigenous-led digital solutions, to platforms that put health information directly in patients’ hands, innovation is pushing progress forward in real time. But change doesn’t happen by chance. It’s built through partnerships, lived experience, and a shared commitment to doing things differently.

Connected Care in Action is a five-part national webinar series hosted by Longwoods and Canada Health Infoway. It’s about what’s working, what we’re learning, and how we move forward, together.

Each session explores a key piece of Canada’s Connected Care journey, spotlighting the real-world innovations –and the people behind them– that are reshaping the system.

These aren’t theoretical discussions. They’re grounded in practice, focused on outcomes, and rooted in the belief that smart, inclusive innovation is the right way to scale better, more Connected Care for everyone.

What You Can Expect

• Candid conversations with clinicians, community leaders, and digital health innovators
• Real-world examples of how innovation is accelerating Connected Care across Canadian provinces and communities
• Global insights from international leaders tackling similar challenges in different contexts
• Honest reflections on what’s working, and what’s getting in the way, from those driving change
• Stories of progress in motion, from AI documentation tools to Indigenous- and community-driven solutions
• A deeper understanding of how innovation, when thoughtfully applied, can drive smarter and more inclusive transformation

Webinar Series Videos 

Testing What’s Possible: Projectathons and the Future of Interoperability

Explore how Projectathons accelerate standards adoption, identify issues early, and give governments, vendors, and providers confidence that solutions are ready for care settings.

Accelerating Together: How Public-Private Collaboration Drives System Change

Explore how strategic public-private partnerships are accelerating Canada’s digital health transformation, while also helping to address long-standing challenges such as data fragmentation, clinician burden, and scaling digital pilots into sustainable system-wide solutions.

Built to Scale: Rethinking Interoperability for Smarter, Connected Care

Explorehow Canada is redefining interoperability as a strategic enabler of better care. It supports clinicians in their workflows, improves the patient experience, and drives system-wide performance.

From the Ground Up: Community-Driven Innovation in Underserved Settings

Explore how community-driven innovation is advancing Connected Care and why equity, cultural relevance, and local leadership are essential for long-term success.

At the Front Line: How AI Is Giving Clinicians Time Back 

Explore how AI-powered scribe tools are easing clinicians’ documentation burden, improving care workflows, and giving time back to patients through responsible, real-world integration.

About Canada Health Infoway

At Canada Health Infoway (Infoway), we believe a more connected and collaborative system is a healthier system and one that leads to better health outcomes for all Canadians. By leveraging digital technologies and innovations, we’re working with governments, healthcare organizations, clinicians, and patients to advance Connected Care across the country. This improves care coordination, empowers patients to have a more active role in managing their health, and equips care providers with information and insights to support better care both at the point of care and throughout their patients' health journey. Most importantly, it modernizes our health care system towards a future with patient-centered care at its heart. 

We’re an independent, not-for-profit organization funded by the federal government and accountable to our Board of Directors and Members of the Corporation (Canada’s 14 federal, provincial and territorial deputy ministers of health). Infoway is led by a team of seasoned professionals who are specialists in their respective fields, including health care, administration, information technology and privacy. Visit us online at www.infoway-inforoute.ca.

About Connected Care and Interoperability

Connected Care is a healthcare model where systems, providers, and technologies work together seamlessly to support real-time communication and secure data sharing. It means that patient information moves easily across platforms, allowing clinicians to collaborate more effectively and make better-informed decisions.

For patients, Connected Care offers more than convenience, it empowers them with greater access to their own health information, helping them play a more active role in their care. Whether managing a chronic condition or navigating a new diagnosis, patients and their care teams are better connected, making it easier to get the right care at the right time, no matter where they are.

Interoperability means that different healthcare systems can communicate, exchange, and use health information securely and effectively. This allows patient data to be shared and understood across various platforms, reducing errors, improving care coordination, and enhancing health outcomes. Interoperability is crucial for achieving Connected Care, ensuring that all parts of the healthcare system work together efficiently.

Infoway is leading a national effort to advance interoperability, guided by the pan-Canadian Interoperability Roadmap. By helping information flow seamlessly between different healthcare solutions and devices. When systems can “speak the same language,” it improves care continuity, collaboration among providers, and patient access to health information.  

Learn about Infoway’s plans to advance Connected Care across Canada by viewing this helpful infographic.

Infoway Resources

Shared Pan-Canadian Interoperability Roadmap

In March 2023, Infoway released the Shared Pan-Canadian Interoperability Roadmap, a strategic plan developed to guide the efforts of provinces, territories, and healthcare organizations across Canada in achieving interoperability within the healthcare system. This roadmap outlines the steps needed to enable seamless data sharing and communication between different healthcare systems, devices, and technologies across the country.

Learn more about the Shared Pan-Canadian Interoperability Roadmap

Interoperability

In collaboration with provinces and territories, Infoway is leading a national effort to advance interoperability in healthcare, ensuring that information flows seamlessly between different systems and devices.>

Learn more about how interoperability is transforming healthcare. Visit Infoway’s Interoperability Page to explore Infoway’s work on advancing patient summaries and eReferral/eConsult specifications across Canada.

Interacting with Interoperability 

Interoperability is more than just a technical concept—it’s the backbone of a connected healthcare system that works efficiently for everyone. To help you understand its impact, explore the following interactive resources that bring the benefits of interoperability to life:

• eReferral Use Case: See how a more connected health system can improve the patient experience.
• Path to Connected Care: Understand how interoperability enhances health system outcomes and care quality.

Relevant resources, surveys and reports:

• Pan-Canadian Interoperability Specifications (and supplement pages)
• 2023 Canadian Digital Health Survey – Understanding Canadians' experiences with digital health
• 2023 Canadian Survey of Nurses – Understanding the utilization and impact of digital health technologies on nursing practice
• 2024 National Survey of Canadian Physicians –  Understanding the use of digital health and information technologies by Canadian physicians in practice
• Infoway x CIHI Webinar – Care Coordination and Collaboration in the Canadian Health Care System
• Video – What Connected Care Means to the Future of Canada's Health Care System  
• Breaking Barriers: 2025 Projectathon Ushers in a New Era of Connected Care 

Insights from Infoway's Leaders

Empowering Healthcare’s Heroes: Introducing the Connected Care Innovation Grant

Dr. Rashaad Bhyat

A Strong Foundation: Leveraging Digital Health Tools in Primary Care  

Dr. Rashaad Bhyat  

The Urgency of Addressing Physician Burnout: A Call to Action for Canada 

Michael Green & Abhinav Kalra

The 2025 IHE North America Connectathon: How Canada is Advancing Interoperability 

Michael Green

Empowering Clinicians with AI: Announcing the AI Scribe Program

Krista Balenko

Enhancing Connected Care through Public-Private Partnerships: The Patient Summary

Abhinav Kalra 

Connected Care Education Video Series

AI Scribe: More Time for Patient Care 

Collecting, using, and sharing patient health data efficiently is critical for primary care clinicians. But documentation — while essential — is often time-consuming. AI Scribes help by securely transcribing key medical details and summarizing conversations, giving clinicians more time for patient care. 

Terminology Standards 

Terminology standards create a common clinical language, ensuring healthcare terms are consistently understood across providers, systems, and care settings. They ensure patients’ health records are recorded consistently and easily accessed by any clinician, no matter where care is received. 

Simplifying Clinical Workflows with HALO 

HALO (Health Application Lightweight Protocol) is a national framework that connects approved digital apps seamlessly with clinical systems like electronic medical records (EMRs). HALO allows clinicians to access essential tools — like referrals and patient data — directly from an EMR without extra logins or duplicate data entry. 

The Power of the Patient Summary 

The patient summary is transforming how health information flows, creating a safer, smarter, more connected system. It ensures clinicians have the right information at the right time, wherever care is provided. Learn more about the Pan-Canadian Patient Summary Specification (PS-CA), a key building block for secure, accurate data exchange. 

Effective Management of Patient Referrals 

eReferrals are streamlining the patient referral process, making it faster, more secure, and more efficient for patients and clinicians. Learn how the Pan-Canadian eReferral/eConsult Interoperability Specification (CA:eReC) enables seamless referrals across the health system — and how Infoway is supporting nationwide adoption. 

Faster, Smarter Access to Specialist Advice 

eConsult provides clinicians with faster access to specialist input, enabling informed care decisions sooner. It streamlines workflows, reduces wait times, and improves continuity of care. Through the Pan-Canadian eConsult Interoperability Specification (CA:eReC), Infoway is helping scale and integrate eConsult solutions across Canada.  

Pathways to Progress: Driving Connected Care in Canada 

Learn more about the importance of Connected Care in Canada and Infoway's role in convening jurisdictional and industry partners to advance innovative digital health solutions that help improve patient care.

From Longwoods Publishing

• Commonwealth Fund Survey...Emphasizes the need for Interoperability...
• Enabling Connected Care with a Person-Centred Data Foundation
• Human Factor Health Data Interoperability
• Virtual Care in Canada as of the Sixth Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Finding the Right Balance
• E-Mental Health Services in Canada: Can They Close the Access Gap?
• Unlocking the Power of Health Data: How the Connected Care for Canadians Act Propels Canada into the Next Phase of Patient-Centred Care
• Defining "Essential Digital Health for the Underserved"