Connected Care for Canadians Bill

Honourable senators, I am delighted to speak in support of Bill S-5, the connected care for Canadians act, primarily from the perspective of someone who has experienced the front lines of primary care.

I thank Senator Kingston for taking a lead on this bill and for her very informative speech.

Colleagues, I’ve seen first-hand the triumphs and frustrations of our health care system — the joy of helping patients manage chronic conditions effectively and the exasperation of chasing down faxed reports and records or piecing together incomplete histories from fragmented sources. This legislation aims to foster the interoperability of health information technology, ensuring the secure, seamless sharing of electronic data while prohibiting data blocking by vendors.

I’ll outline its key strengths and weaknesses, drawing from my daily experiences and the broader implications for both patients and providers.

To begin, let’s acknowledge the bill’s core intent. It mandates that health information technology vendors make their systems interoperable, allowing for easy access, use and exchange of electronic health information unless restricted by existing privacy laws. It also bans data blocking — those obstructive practices where vendors impose fees, delays or technical barriers to data sharing.

I see immense potential here. One of the greatest strengths of this bill is its ability to enhance patient safety and care continuity. In my practice, I’ve lost count of the number of times a patient arrived from another province or from a specialist, and I would have to start from scratch because their records were not accessible. This would lead to unnecessary tests, medication errors or delayed diagnoses — issues that surveys show affect over 70% of electronic health information not being shared across providers.

With interoperability, I could instantly pull up a full history, spot drug interactions or track vaccination records, reducing hospital stays and improving outcomes. For instance, managing a diabetic patient’s care becomes far more effective when lab results from a recent electronic record are integrated seamlessly into my system, allowing me to adjust treatments without redundancy.

Another strength of this bill lies in empowering patients and reducing administrative burdens on health providers. The bill promotes person-centred care by enabling patients to securely access their own data, no matter where they live or travel.

Colleagues, in many clinical situations, patients often feel disempowered, repeating their stories endlessly. This legislation could change that, fostering informed decisions and better self‑management. Think of a senior monitoring their heart condition via a unified app, for example. For physicians, it means less time wrestling with incompatible software or fax machines. Currently, 95% of physicians use electronic systems, yet many revert to paper because of failed connections or a lack of interoperability.

By prohibiting data blocking, the bill could free up hours for direct patient interaction, combatting burnout and allowing us to see more people amid Canada’s primary care shortages.

Moreover, Bill S-5 paves the way for innovation and efficiency in our system. It sets the stage for AI-driven insights, like predictive analytics for disease outbreaks or personalized treatment plans, while creating economic opportunities for Canadian tech firms.

In rural areas from where patients are referred to urban specialists, this could bridge gaps, supporting virtual care and equitable access.

Overall, these strengths align with what organizations like the Canadian Medical Association and the College of Family Physicians of Canada have endorsed: safer, more coordinated care that saves lives and outcomes. That said, colleagues, no bill is perfect, and as a physician committed to ethical practice, I must highlight what I view as some perceived weaknesses.

Privacy and security remain a top concern. While the bill defers to existing federal, provincial and territorial privacy laws, mandating broader data sharing inherently increases the surface area for breach or misuse. In my experience, even de-identified data can be vulnerable, and with cyber threats on the rise, a single hack could erode patient trust.

We’ve seen this in other jurisdictions like the U.S. where similar interoperability pushes led to unintended exposures without robust safeguards. The bill’s enforcement relies on future regulations for penalties and compliance checks, but if these are not stringent, vendors might skirt rules and leave gaps.

Implementation poses another challenge, particularly for small family practices. Upgrading to interoperable systems could incur significant costs, like hardware, software and training, and these are not addressed in the bill. In underserved areas where budgets are tight and where internet is unreliable, this may, in fact, exacerbate the digital divide, disadvantaging elderly patients or those in remote communities who lack tech literacy.

Moreover, the bill’s application depends on provincial alignment. If some regions lag, we could end up with a patchwork system, undermining national connectivity.

Finally, while reducing administrative work is a boon, overreliance on tech could introduce new errors if data quality isn’t standardized — garbage in, garbage out, as they say.

In conclusion, Bill S-5 represents a bold step toward modernizing Canada’s health care, addressing long-standing inefficiencies that have hindered the work of family physicians and specialists every day. I believe its strengths in safety, efficiency and patient empowerment do outweigh the risks, and if we address the weaknesses through strong regulations, funding support and ongoing stakeholder input, we should be able to address them. I believe that together we can build a truly connected system that puts patients first. Thank you for your time and consideration. Meegwetch.