The last two years have been an unparalleled stress test for Canada's health systems, but they've revealed what the future of health care can be. By highlighting current health system challenges, the pandemic has demonstrated how we can transform Canadian health care and enter the post-pandemic world with the modernized health system that Canadians deserve. Specifically, the accelerated adoption of digital health has shown how our health system can be more people-centred, better connected and better prepared for the future of care.
If we look to virtual care, rapid adoption has resulted from the sudden need for physical distancing, but it's also created new ways to “meet patients where they are at.” With the proliferation of video and telephone visits for certain routine appointments, that philosophy has become literal — when appropriate for their health needs, Canadians can now connect to their health care providers from their homes, their parked cars, or another location of choice. For many Canadians, this means that health care is catching up to other industries like banking and travel. If we can manage our money and vacation itineraries from home, why shouldn't we be able to do the same with our health?
That question looms large in Canadians' minds. A national consultation conducted by Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) in 2020 found that 92 per cent of Canadians want technology that makes health care as convenient as other aspects of their lives. And so, it's not surprising that in a recent Leger survey commissioned by Infoway, “convenience” was Canadians' top reason for choosing virtual care in the future.
But people-centred care is more than, and must go beyond, convenience. Digital health can help give Canadians the information they need to make the right decisions for them. Putting Canadians' own health data into their hands better equips them to take an active role in their care. In the same Leger survey, we found that 82 per cent of Canadians who accessed their personal health information electronically reported being better able to manage their health.
Taking a broader view, digital health also has the potential to increase health equity and access. Among Canadians who had a virtual visit, 91 per cent said that they saved time and money. For some Canadians, travel time, transportation costs, and the logistics of booking time off work and arranging dependents' care can be barriers to health system access. While we need to ensure that we don't exacerbate the unintended consequences of a “digital divide,” digital health can provide another option for Canadians who might otherwise choose to delay or forgo care.
As more digital health tools and services complement in-person care, it's more essential than ever to ensure the different parts of the health system can talk to each other. When health care providers and solutions aren't able to work together due to technological constraints, patient care can be compromised. And so, Canadians cannot be left to navigate fragmented, siloed systems. To enable more people-centred health journeys, modernized health systems need information infrastructure that prioritizes connectedness, ensuring that the right data is available to the right people, at the right time.
More efficient and secure ways of sharing data can help information flow seamlessly between Canadians and their health care providers, and between clinicians collaborating with each other. This improved communication enables better coordination and continuity of care. At Infoway, initiatives to enhance the exchange of information between Canadians and their health care providers, and between clinicians working together, are already underway.
However, unless we support our health workforce with the skills and knowledge necessary to deliver on the potential of digital health, we'll risk the progress we've made. With our partners, Infoway has developed clinician toolkits and resources to ensure that our health workforce has the training and knowledge to provide safe, effective and efficient virtual care. Modernized, fit-for-purpose digital tools need to be matched by equivalent education to continue accelerating clinical adoption and overcome the challenges of change management.
We also need to look further ahead, into a future where artificial intelligence, quantum safe computing and other innovative technologies aren't just science fiction, but established and integrated aspects of the health system. By investing time in understanding these emerging technologies now, health care organizations can avoid playing “catch up,” and position themselves to effectively leverage these technologies' impending maturation.
The pandemic has irrevocably changed our society. Yet while we cannot forget COVID-19's devastating costs, the shock of the pandemic has led to renewed commitment to the art of the possible — Canada cannot return to the health system we had, but we've already laid the foundations for the health system we need.
Michael Green is the President and CEO of Canada Health Infoway