By Dian Cohen

Local Journalism Initiative

Canadians, including those living in Quebec, seem united in their desire for independence, sovereignty, and viability. There is so much we can do to advance this goal without constantly looking over our shoulders at the looming threat of American repression.

One improvement isn’t immediately apparent in the list of barriers to free trade within Canada: making our healthcare system more responsive. This means giving doctors more freedom to see patients while ensuring faster and easier access to healthcare professionals.

During the pandemic, all provinces expanded reimbursement for virtual care and removed administrative barriers. Before COVID-19, fewer than 3 percent of outpatient visits were virtual, but at the peak of the crisis, that number exceeded 70 percent. Feedback from patients was overwhelmingly positive: 79 percent wanted access to their personal health information, 77 percent desired electronic prescription renewals, 75 percent wanted the ability to book appointments online, and 86 percent felt more informed about their health as a result of accessing their health information electronically.

In 2021, Health Canada advocated for virtual care to become “a permanent, equitable, and fully integrated part of our healthcare system.” The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) was working towards making Canada a world leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and ensuring the success of digitization. In June 2024, the government introduced Bill 72 to ensure that core digital health assets—such as patient records, diagnostic imaging, lab results, and prescribing systems—are interoperable and universally accessible nationwide. In December 2024, then-Health Minister Mark Miller urged Parliament to pass Bill 72, stating, “Just one example [of connected care] allowing AI scribes to be used in our system would create the equivalent of 1,000 new doctors in a very short period. Connected care can open up new avenues of care, and that is something this Parliament can do.”

Healthcare is under provincial jurisdiction. Passing Bill 72 at the national level would have facilitated provinces’ adoption of virtual care. However, Bill 72 did not progress through the parliamentary stages to become law before Parliament prorogued. Now that the COVID crisis has passed, many jurisdictions have reverted to pre-pandemic policies. The federal government has exacerbated this issue by failing to provide clear guidance on virtual care. The 2025 Canada Health Act (CHA) Interpretation Letter didn’t mention it, leaving it unclear whether virtual services fall within the insured basket of what the CHA regards as “medically necessary services.”

Addressing this gap is crucial because not having connected care is a barrier not just to interprovincial trade but also to our good health. Ensuring that healthcare is interoperable, accessible, and ready for AI-driven improvements is vital to better healthcare access. Canada already lags behind other countries in its adoption of new technology. Skepticism about its usefulness is equivalent to negligence.

A 2023 Canadian Federation of Independent Business report estimated that Canadian doctors spend 49 million hours a year on administrative tasks. AI scribe technology holds the promise of removing some of that burden. Studies suggest that it can save doctors multiple hours of paperwork each week, allowing them to dedicate more time to patient care. One study, commissioned by the Ontario Medical Association, found that family physicians, who report spending an average of 19 hours per week on paperwork, spent 70 to 90 percent less time on administrative tasks when using AI scribes.

The uptake of AI scribes in Canada has been low due to concerns about privacy and cost; fewer than 10 per cent of family doctors currently use the technology. Most physicians surveyed in the Ontario study indicated they were unwilling to pay the current price for AI scribes, which typically ranges from $135 to $400 per month for unlimited use. While this price may decline with wider adoption, a quarter of respondents stated they would only consider using the technology if it were free.

In March 2025, Canada Health Infoway announced it would cover the first-year licensing fee for the first 10,000 primary care providers who sign up to implement AI script technology into their practices. Even more enticing is that providers can choose from a list of pre-qualified AI script products vetted for privacy and other concerns by Canada Health Infoway and its provincial and territorial partners.

While we claim that our healthcare system is universal, many indications suggest otherwise. It imposes unequal costs on patients in time, travel, and lost income. A 15-minute doctor’s appointment can mean half a day of lost income for some. Patients in rural and remote communities don’t just wait longer for specialists—they also face flight costs, overnight stays, and logistical headaches just to see them. Check out this out-of-pocket cost calculator from a 2020 Infoway study: https://insights.infoway-inforoute.ca/calculator.

Many participants eager to reduce interprovincial barriers are on the job and pushing hard for results. Their efforts must not get lost in the disruption and upheaval caused by the election of a new government and Parliament.

Cohendian560@gmail.com