The COVID-19 pandemic shifted healthcare models and propelled digital solutions into mainstream healthcare. Canadians are demanding user-friendly online solutions from the healthcare industry – with the expectation that it will prevail long after the pandemic ends.
More than ever, patients are being proactive about preventive care, more willing to change doctors if unsatisfied with care or customer service, feel more comfortable using technology to improve/maintain personal health, and using tools/ratings to find the best quality of care and customer service.
It’s clear that virtual care is more than just a trend; It’s here to stay. It will continue to evolve and play an important role in how the public access and receive care.
Experts predict that in a decade from now, healthcare, as we know it today, will no longer exist. So, how can health teams, networks and professionals cater to the growing needs of healthcare consumers? What has changed over the past two years that has caused such a dramatic shift towards telehealth? What does healthcare in Canada look like now, and in the future?
See what experts say about the future of healthcare in Canada, why telehealth will be increasingly important post-pandemic, and what patients look for in a provider in EMPOWER Health’s infographic, Digital Health: Data, Trends, and Opportunities.
Open the door to a streamlined, coordinated health experience.
Empowering patients across the spectrum of their healthcare interactions are made possible through a central digital front door to the healthcare system like EMPOWER Health.
EMPOWER Health is a personalized online appointment booking platform and health service directory that To see how EMPOWER Health’s EMR-integrated Online Appointment Booking can help your healthcare organization get through the digital front door click here.
To learn more about how COVID-19 has changed the healthcare industry and how health teams can succeed in this new digital landscape, download our free white paper:
Vaccine Passports have been all the rage recently as Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the plan to implement them earlier this week. The system is set to cover “higher-risk” indoor spaces where masks can’t be worn at all times and will be applied in the following non-essential settings effective September 22, 2021 (Powers & Carter, 2021):
Restaurants and bars (excluding outdoor patios, delivery and takeout).
Nightclubs, including outdoor areas.
Meeting and event spaces like banquet halls and convention centres.
Sports and fitness facilities and gyms, with the exception of youth recreational sports.
Sporting events.
Casinos, bingo halls and gaming establishments.
Concerts, music festivals, theatres and cinemas.
Strip clubs, bath houses and sex clubs.
Racing venues.
The Power of Words
Health experts have recently claimed that the use of the term “passport” is causing more harm than good (Bensadoun, 2021). Ever since the concept of “vaccine passports” were introduced last year, falsified information has and continues to bombard public forums. As such, the level of support towards the implementation of this immunization record system has plummeted.
Dr. Raywat Deonandan, an epidemiologist and science communicator teaching at the University of Ottawa, claims that passports suggest “restrictions” and that “we [tend to] think of passports [and immediately associate them with] border control. You think of uninformed individuals looking up and down, asking for your papers and restricting you from something you feel you have a right to access” (Bensadoun, 2021).
A Familiar Concept
It is important to remember that vaccine passports-or in other words, immunization records have existed for many years and are common around the world. In most provinces in Canada, public schools will require proof of a child’s immunization record in order to attend.
Look what my parents found… my old immunization record! This record proved my vaccination status and allowed me to attend school as I was immune to things like mumps, measles, rubella, polio, etc. All things we have achieved herd immunity with thanks to vaccines. #onpoli#ontedpic.twitter.com/oIDkztjY4b
In the words of Maxwell Smith, a bioethicist and professor at Western University, “people feel that their liberties are being infringed upon with these sort of systems, despite the fact that we have always ordered society in the name of public health with particular protections that protect populations and we view vaccination status as one of those ways to do that” (Bensadoun, 2021).
Bairavie Piravakaran (she/her) is a second-year undergraduate at the University of Toronto Scarborough. As a Psychological & Health Sciences student, she values the importance of sharing credible information and making health resources more accessible to the public. Her interests in population health, research, and design are also reflected in her non-academic pursuits—she currently with the Young Leaders of Public Health and Medicine (YLPHM) as a Social Media Manager for the Scarborough Chapter and is a Health Promotion & Analytics Member at Critical Health Innovations Lab (CHIL). At EMPOWER Health, Bairavie works closely with the Marketing Team in order to plan and execute strategies that help inform the public about current health-related topics.
With the Delta variant continuing to spread in various parts of Ontario, it is crucial that second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are accessible to those who are most vulnerable. According to recent data however, it appears that those living in wealthier postal codes are moving well with the rate of second doses—even more so than the poorer and more racialized communities that need it the most.
Ontario has identified and targeted the following regions to receive an increased amount of second doses: Toronto, Peel Region, Halton and York Region.
The independent research organization ICES claims that as of June 7, 2021,
the wealthier postal codes among the targeted regions appear to have an increased amount of second-dose recipients (Woodward, 2021). The postal code that led the race at the time was M5P which includes parts of Forest Hill where 17.55 percent of the residents had received their second dose (Woodward, 2021).The area around Jane and Finch, as well as Rexdale had significantly lower numbers, at 4.97 and 4.58 percent respectively (Woodward, 2021).
Dr. David Burt of the Black Scientists’ Task Force on Vaccine Equity states that “many [racialized and other vulnerable community members] are in the service industry, they can’t work from home, they have to take public transit, they have to work in the health-care sector”.
Distribution Solutions
The inequities with the rollout of second doses are no different than the first. In order to create a more balanced distribution, Toronto’s Sprint Strategy is working towards targeting areas of interest. On the other hand, pop-ups such as the ones held by Scarborough Health Network are focused on the population that lives and works in high-risk postal codes (Woodward, 2021).
Bairavie Piravakaran is a second-year undergraduate at the University of Toronto Scarborough. As a Psychological & Health Sciences student, she values the importance of sharing credible information and making health resources more accessible to the public. Her interests in population health, research, and design are also reflected in her non-academic pursuits—she currently volunteers with the Young Leaders of Public Health and Medicine (YLPHM) as a Social Media Manager for the Scarborough Chapter and is a Health Promotion & Analytics Member at Critical Health Innovations Lab (CHIL). At EMPOWER Health, Bairavie works closely with the Marketing Team in order to plan and execute strategies that help inform the public about current health-related topics.
Healthcare disparities among Indigenous communities are no foreign concept in Canada—these outcomes are deeply rooted in the determinants of health that must be addressed in order to build an equitable health system.
“Equity” should not be confused with “equality.”
It is worth noting that equity and equality are two entirely different concepts. While equity tends to rely on the ideology of fairness, equality promotes impartiality. According to Health Quality Ontario, “Health equity allows people to reach their full health potential and receive high-quality care that is fair and appropriate to them and their needs, no matter where they live, what they have or who they are… a high-quality health system recognizes and respects social, cultural and linguistic differences”. By definition, health care equity is a “sub-set of health equity” in which a health system is able to effectively provide equitable health care (Health Quality Ontario, 2019).
Indigenous Mental Health in Canada
The alarming rates of poverty, unemployment, child apprehension, poor education, and public services are all contributing factors to the declining mental health of Indigenous peoples. These communities are challenged with a “disproportionate burden of disparity” that comes with low income and substandard living conditions (Richmond et al., 2016). In a recent report from Statistics Canada, mental health disparities between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations in Canada have demonstrated to be directly linked to the intergenerational effects of residential schools, the forced relocation of communities and removal of children from families and communities, and mental health services gaps. The report also claims that the adverse mental health outcomes of the Indigenous have resulted from childhood adversity, trauma, discrimination, as well as social determinants of health such as unemployment, housing, poverty, and food security (Government of Canada, 2020).
Indigenous Mental Health and the Pandemic
According to Statistics Canada, 6 in 10 Indigenous participants report that their mental health has worsened since the onset of physical distancing (Arriagada et al., 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has only amplified the mental health concerns of Indigenous communities as the inability to socialize in-person creates unfamiliar and stressful situations. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) also describes how factors such as geographical isolation, high levels of pre-existing health conditions and inadequate housing are associated with a higher risk of contracting or spreading the COVID-19 virus.
Understanding the Impact
A 2010 American research study indicates that patient race/ethnicity can influence physician interpretation of patients’ complaints and, ultimately, clinical decision making (Sorkin et al., 2010). Over time, these biases towards certain populations become rooted in healthcare systems and become significantly more difficult to eliminate. As such, it is crucial for healthcare institutions to prioritize Indigenous and other marginalized communities. In an era of healthcare transformation, moving towards a system that is equitable will help improve the quality of health services being provided and ultimately increase sustainability.
Sorkin, D. H., Ngo-Metzger, Q., & De Alba, I. (2010, May). Racial/ethnic discrimination in health care: impact on perceived quality of care. Journal of general internal medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2855001/.
Bairavie Piravakaran (she/her) is a second-year undergraduate at the University of Toronto Scarborough. As a Psychological & Health Sciences student, she values the importance of sharing credible information and making health resources more accessible to the public. Her interests in population health, research, and design are also reflected in her non-academic pursuits—she currently volunteers with the Young Leaders of Public Health and Medicine (YLPHM) as a Social Media Manager for the Scarborough Chapter and is a Health Promotion & Analytics Member at Critical Health Innovations Lab (CHIL). At EMPOWER Health, Bairavie works closely with the Marketing Team in order to plan and execute strategies that help inform the public about current health-related topics.
Although Canada’s vaccine distribution numbers seem promising, the inevitable barriers that come with wanting to immunize an entire country are yet to be completely addressed. Some of the most common challenges include lacking technological support and digital literacy, distribution inequities, language barriers, and an overall fear of vaccines that is instilled through misinformation and false news.
COVID-19 is complicated. Booking a vaccine appointment shouldn’t be.
It is common knowledge that technology has its drawbacks; however, it can be difficult to process how tedious such a “simple” task can become. From long waiting times to constantly refreshing booking sites in hopes of an empty time slot becoming available—not to mention the frustration of having your appointment cancelled and having to go through the process all over again. With ‘tech savvy’ individuals struggling to book appointments on their own, those who are unfamiliar with virtual bookings are left in the dark.
While pop-up and walk-in sites attempt to resolve this issue, the hesitancy and/or struggle to receive the COVID-19 vaccine continues to persist.
Fighting the Inequities of Vaccine Distribution
The World Health Organization (WHO) describes the global COVID-19 vaccine rollout as a “scandalous inequity”. According to WHO director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the “small group of countries [including Canada] that make and buy the majority of the world’s vaccines control the fate of the rest of the world” (Nebehay, 2021). In the same interview, Dr. Tedros emphasizes that nobody should assume they are safe as long as the virus continues to exist elsewhere.
The inequities of vaccine distribution are also prevalent at the provincial level. In Ontario, many of the ‘hot spot’ locations that were initially prioritized demonstrated a “lower-than-average pandemic burden” (Crawley, 2021). In early April, the CBC identified seven other postal codes that experienced a greater impact yet were not categorized as ‘hotspot’ locations. Each of these locations were located in the ridings of oppositional parties (Crawley, 2021).
Overcoming the Language Barrier
Language barriers have always been a challenge for marginalized communities; living in a COVID-19 hotspot however only amplifies these challenges (Lampa, 2021). With over half of Canada’s Rohingya population residing in the Kitchener-Waterloo region, community leaders have claimed that the past year has been extremely difficult due to the Rohingya-English language barrier (Lampa, 2021). It is nearly impossible for many of the Rohingya to access vaccine resources as they are dependent on translators to help them understand COVID-19 protocols. In spite of the regions’ efforts to help the community by developing a video in the Rohingya language, it is not enough to overcome the divide between the non-english speaking Rohingya and the residents of Waterloo.
An ideal strategy in such scenarios would be to match patients with healthcare providers who either speak the same language or share a similar ethnic background. According to Anderson (2014), providing patients with a sense of familiarity in this context may help alleviate the concerns and questions they may want answered prior to receiving their vaccine.
Addressing Vaccine Conspiracies: Educating Gen Z
In an attempt to target Gen Z, medical worker Steven Ho utilizes his biting humor to address the common myths of the COVID-19 vaccine through TikTok (Pikett, 2021). Through this medium, Ho educates the younger generation in hopes of allowing them to teach their elderly caregivers who may not understand the notion of vaccines in general. In a particular video, Ho compares the COVID-19 vaccine to a birth control pill or a seatbelt—while all three of these entities provide a high degree of protection, Ho explains that there is a fine line between having a high degree of protection and 100% protection. Ho also sheds light on the theory that the COVID-19 vaccines contain tracking microchips and satirically claims that there is no need for a microchip vaccine as our cellular devices have already fulfilled the job.
When all is said and done
Immunization barriers will not go away on their own, and will continue to persist beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, it is crucial that as Canadians we are aware of these barriers to help better understand the needs of marginalized communities as well as the privilege we have of being able to receive a vaccine at all.
Bairavie Piravakaran (she/her) is a second-year undergraduate at the University of Toronto Scarborough. As a Psychological & Health Sciences student, she values the importance of sharing credible information and making health resources more accessible to the public. Her interests in population health, research, and design are also reflected in her non-academic pursuits—she currently with the Young Leaders of Public Health and Medicine (YLPHM) as a Social Media Manager for the Scarborough Chapter and is a Health Promotion & Analytics Member at Critical Health Innovations Lab (CHIL). At EMPOWER Health, Bairavie works closely with the Marketing Team in order to plan and execute strategies that help inform the public about current health-related topics.
Canada Day is just around the corner, which means your go-to clinic might just be closed. Even though everyone across Canada will be busy celebrating, you never know if you’ll need to see your doctor or pick up a prescription from your local pharmacy.
Well, you’re in luck! iamsick.ca’s easy-to-use website or app can quickly help you find the healthcare information you need! This Canada Day, you will be able to effortlessly find the holiday hours for about 90% of various healthcare professionals as soon as you need them!
Sound interesting? Read on to learn about how our healthcare platform works.
Canada-Wide Coverage
When something unexpected happens and you need to see your physician as soon as possible, it’s not always easy to find their holiday hours. With a click of a button, you can use our accurate and complete holiday hour coverage to find what you need, including holiday hours for a wide-range of healthcare services.
Seamless and Integrated Platform
Along with providing holiday hour info, iamsick.ca offers an incredibly useful platform that connects patients to a wide variety of healthcare providers including clinics, pharmacies, community health centre, diagnostic labs, etc. With a simple search option, you can find a physician who speaks your language, who works after hours, who is available on weekends or generally fits your needs.
Online Booking
Once you’ve found the physician or healthcare provider that you need, you can use our flexible online booking system to effortlessly schedule an appointment. You don’t need to wait on hold on the phone to book an appointment anymore. You can also take advantage of the Waiting Room Concierge which will place you in a queue and notify you when it’s almost your turn for your schedule appointment. You can avoid those long and often irritating amounts of time that you would normally have to spend in the waiting room.
We’re continuously expanding our physician holiday hour coverage across Canada, and offer a wide range of convenient filter options so you can find the exact healthcare service you’re looking for! Check out our services here to learn more!
The Advisory Panel on Healthcare Innovation was created in 2014 to identify areas of growth in Canadian health innovation. Formed by the Canadian Minister of Health, the panel was tasked to:
Identify the five most promising areas of innovation in Canada and internationally that have the potential to sustainably reduce growth in health spending while leading to improvements in the quality and accessibility of care.
Recommend the five ways the federal government could support innovation in the areas identified above.
This year, the panel, led by chair Dr. David Naylor, published Unleashing Innovation: Excellent Healthcare for Canada. The panel reached out to Canadians and industry representatives, and conducted extensive research in order to best understand the current Canadian healthcare innovation landscape. In the report, the panel identified five critical areas in Canadian healthcare innovation:
patient engagement and empowerment
health systems integration with workforce modernization
technological transformation via digital health and precision medicine
better value from procurement, reimbursement and regulation
industry as an economic driver and innovation catalyst.
More importantly, the report recommended a new model for encouraging health innovation. Such a model encompasses a wide-angled view of healthcare innovation, rather than a series of small, quick-fixes that do not speak to the overall healthcare innovation landscape. The panel specified two enabling actions:
1. Creating a the Healthcare Innovation Agency of Canada (HIAC)
Should the agency be created, the HIAC will be an arms-length organization supported by the Healthcare Innovation Fund. The agency will support national collaboration across pan-Canadian organizations. In particular, the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement, the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, and the Canada Health Infoway will be included in HIAC.
2. Establishing the Healthcare Innovation Fund
The Healthcare Innovation Fund’s general goals are to “support high-impact initiatives proposed by governments and stakeholders; break down structural barriers to change; and accelerate the spread and scale-up of promising innovations”. Rather than a formulaic allocation of funds, the Healthcare Innovation Fund will be allocated based on transparent specifications, measurable healthcare outcomes, and economic and social value.
iamsick.ca is pleased to see the efforts being made to promote and encourage healthcare innovation in Canada. Improving healthcare outcomes and fostering innovation is at the core of iamsick.ca’s work. In particular, we are encouraged to see the spirit of collaboration and partnership embodied throughout the report. We look forward to seeing new developments and measurable changes as the federal government moves forward with these recommendations.
No-shows, or missed appointments, are a costly and unfortunate reality for many healthcare providers in Canada. In 2014, 90% of surveyed Canadians expressed a desire for online appointment booking, yetonly 7% of Canadian family physicians offered it. This falls far below the 66% of Swedish physicians and 30% of American physicians who offer online appointment requests (2012).
The Study
The Canada Health Infoway 2012-2013 study investigated the impact of e-booking at six private medical practices in Canada over a two-year period. The objectives of the study were to:
Measure adoption
Evaluate patient perceptions
Assess the effect on number of no-shows
The Results
The number of online bookings increased by 32%. The number of users/registrants also increased.
Patients perceived three major benefits: scheduling flexibility, time savings, and automated reminders.
The e-booking system’s automated appointment reminders (via telephone, e-mail or text message) proved to reduce the number of no-shows experienced by each clinic.
Interesting Findings
The study found that an overwhelming majority used the online appointment booking system to book appointments for themselves rather than for a relative.
“Our results show that e-booking systems seem to represent a win-win solution for patients and physicians.”
e-Booking in 2015
In 2015, still fewer than 10% of Canadians can book family physician appointments online. This number can be improved.
Canada Health Infoway ran an e-Booking Initiative in 2014 to encourage broader use of this digital health solution. e-Booking offers many potential benefits, including:
time savings
cost savings
improved productivity
reduced no-shows
improved healthcare access
improved patient satisfaction
improved staff satisfaction
For more information on the benefits of e-booking and Infoway’s work in promoting the tool across Canada, take a look at our previous blog post.
iamsick.ca’s e-Booking Platform
Canadians are ready for a change, and we’re here to help. iamsick.ca‘s e-booking platform was designed to integrate with clinic workflows and software. With complete EMR-integration, appointments booked online can effortlessly appear in your scheduler. Reduce no-shows, time spent managing phone-calls and improve clinic efficiency with valuable analytics.
If you’re interested in offering e-booking in your clinic or pharmacy, contact us at partners@iamsick.ca for more information.
Digital health solutions provide us with numerous benefits.
Recently, Canada Health Infoway explored how digital health solutions can improve healthcare, including e-visits and the ability to view test results online. What’s most interesting to us is their take on e-booking, and the benefits that it offers to patients and healthcare providers.
According to their white paper published in 2014, Infoway found that e-booking was ranked as one of the top three most useful consumer health products. Some of the potential benefits of e-booking include:
Time and cost savings
Reduced no shows
Improved healthcare access
Improved patient satisfaction
Improved staff satisfaction.
Simply put, using e-booking can help clinicians run a more efficient practice. More importantly, e-booking allows patients to take control of their health by giving them tools to connect with healthcare providers, when and where they need it.
iamsick.ca’s e-Booking Platform
Most clinic software, referred to as electronic medical record (EMR) software, do not offer the ability for patients to book appointments online. That’s why we designed and built an e-booking platform that can integrate with existing clinic software. In the future, if EMR software companies offer their own e-boking service, our system can complement their service to offer patients choice and additional functionality; like our virtual waiting room, healthcare system wayfinding, and other services that we’re building.
The first is our integrated e-booking platform. This platform integrates with existing scheduling module of EMR software to create a seamless workflow. Appointments made on iamsick.ca will automatically sync with the clinic’s calendar.
The second service is a stand-alone e-booking service that lets patients book appointments online without EMR software integration.
The third service is an appointment e-request service that lets patients request appointments online, and allows for a level of interaction between the patient and clinic staff to help find the best time for an appointment.
Are you a patient who is itching to booking appointments online? If you have a doctor who doesn’t yet offer e-booking, please visit book.iamsick.ca and fill out the form at the bottom of the page to let us know your doctor’s contact information. We will follow-up with your doctor to let them know about the benefits of iamsick.ca e-booking at their clinic.
If don’t have a family doctor and want to book appointments online, you can also use iamsick.ca to search for family doctors accepting new patients. And, some of these family doctors, as well as some primary care walk-in clinics, accept online appointment booking using iamsick.ca.
Are you a healthcare provider who wants to improve the patient experience in your clinic? Contact partners[at]iamsick.ca to schedule a demo and learn more about how the iamsick.ca e-booking platform can help you.
Since then, our co-founder and president, Ryan Doherty, has been hard at work with our team and advisors to create the perfect pitch. The showcase is tomorrow, and we’re more ready than ever!
What should you expect?
We are a young, up-and-coming startup that is ready to take on the challenge of helping patients navigate the healthcare system. Ryan’s vision to connect patients with appropriate care drives the team to improve our platform and find new ways to help Canadians to maneuver across the confusing healthcare landscape. Recently, we’ve even started exploring features that will improve the delivery of healthcare – from our virtual waiting room to same-day/same-week advanced access.
At HealthKick, we are seeking angel round investments. If successful, the investments and opportunities will help us grow and spread the platform across different disciplines, and across Canada.
iamsick.ca blog 