Leveraging technology for health care system transformation: The time is now

Tuesday, 13 August 2019 12:00.PM

For two days, over 1,000 physicians, health stakeholders and patients came together in Toronto to explore how leveraging technology will improve the health care system. At the conclusion of the second annual Canadian Medical Association (CMA) Health Summit, the message was clear: it's time to put technology at the service of the health care system and Canadians.

"It's clear that our health care system is strained, and we need to innovate. The technology is available, and we need to connect the dots to leverage it," says Dr. Gigi Osler, the CMA's outgoing president. "The CMA is excited to take the next steps – whether it's by working on scaling up virtual care in Canada or exploring how to further enable other technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to improve health and health outcomes."

One of the key sessions over the past two days was on virtual care, an important focus for the CMA. The association, along with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the College of Family Physicians of Canada, is leading a virtual care task force, with recommendations to be released later this year.

Last week, the CMA released the findings of a new report, The future of connected health care, which highlighted an increased eagerness from Canadians to integrate more technology into health care.