Digital Health in Canada

AI is opening new doors in care delivery, but its true impact depends on how people experience and shape it. Explore how clinicians build confidence in new tools, why some solutions thrive while others stall, and what health leaders can do to bridge the gap.
Guests:
Dr. Samuel Gareau-Lajoie, family physician; Partner, Vetted Medical
Dr. Payal Agarwal, family physician; Chief Medical Information and Innovation Officer, Waterloo Regional Health Network; Provincial Clinical Lead, Digital Health, Ontario Health 
Learn More:
Care for Tech/Soignons La Tech
Ontario AI Scribe Program
Summary:
00:12 Introducing Our Guests
05:22 First AI in Practice
09:43 Building Clinician Trust
12:08 Adoption by Unexpected Users
15:40 Patients and Dr ChatGPT
17:34 Beyond Scribes Use Cases
19:33 AI Literacy and Privacy
21:17 Future Hopes and Wrap
Music: RetroFuture Clean and Breakdown, by Kevin MacLeod. Used under Creative Commons.

AI has incredible potential to transform care – but what does that look like in practice, and what is the potential value for health systems and organizations? Today, we invite two leaders to explore the rapidly changing AI landscape and how leaders can support effective - and strategic - implementation.
Guests:
Julien Billot, Chief Executive Officer, SCALE AI
Matt Gallagher, Director, Business Development Health Division (Ontario), Airudi  
Learn More:
SCALE AI
Airudi
Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy
Summary:
00:28 Meet the Guests
06:19 Health Projects  Focus
08:25 Beyond the Chatbot Hype
10:42 Talk Business Not AI
16:12 Change Management That Sticks
21:42 When AI Is Not the Answer
25:07 Rethink Processes for Big Gains
28:00 Closing Reflections and Wrap-Up
Music: RetroFuture Clean and Breakdown, by Kevin MacLeod. Used under Creative Commons.

When it comes to high-quality care, technology accelerates possibility—and people determine impact. In this episode, our guests explore the skills that leaders need to bring out the best of a tech-enabled world, and help make sure that the future of care in Canada is both high-tech and high-quality.
Guests:
Dr. Jennifer Zelmer, President and CEO, Healthcare Excellence Canada
Dr. Kendall Ho, Professor of Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia, & Medical Director, HealthlinkBC 811 Virtual Physician Service
Learn More:
Healthcare Excellence Canada
HealthLinkBC 811 Virtual Physician Service
Summary:
00:00 Welcome and Introductions
04:31 Defining Quality Care
08:13 Safety Sets the Pace
10:23 Analogies for Guardrails
14:52 Co Design With Patients
15:48 Fixing Human Problems
16:41 High Performing Systems
21:59 Leader Playbook for Change
27:06 Developing Trust Based Leaders
32:00 Digital Health in One Word
Music: RetroFuture Clean and Breakdown, by Kevin MacLeod. Used under Creative Commons.

Why is Generative AI (GenAI)—AI that can create content in response to a user's prompt or request—so different from other technologies in health? Listen to this episode for thoughts on what you need to know to prepare yourself and your team for a GenAI world.
Guests
Dr. Zayna Khayat, applied health futurist and keynote speaker with affiliations at AMS Healthcare, the Rotman School of Management, Deloitte, and Teladoc Health
Will Falk, Senior Fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute; Executive-in-Residence at the Rotman School of Management; CSA Public Policy Fellow at the CSA Group
Learn More:
AI in Action: Transforming Clinical Care Across Canada Environmental Scan
Summary
00:14 Welcome to the Podcast
03:56 Why AI Feels Different
04:16 GenAI vs Predictive vs Agentic
06:00 AI Empowered Patients
09:14 New Interoperability Reality
10:17 From Digital to AI Systems
19:51 Leadership Skills for AI Era
25:17 Mindset Shifts
28:38 One Word Takeaways
Music: RetroFuture Clean and Breakdown, by Kevin MacLeod. Used under Creative Commons.

What does it take to protect a key strategic asset— our health data — in an era of accelerating AI? In this episode, we explore why data sovereignty is a strategic imperative for Canada, and the digital health future we stand to build — or lose.
Guests: 
Dr. Kumanan Wilson, Specialist in General Internal Medicine at The Ottawa Hospital; Chief Executive Officer/Chief Scientific Officer, Bruyère Health Research Institute; Vice President Research & Academic Affairs, Bruyère Health; and Chief Scientific Officer of CANImmunize Inc.
Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law at the University of Ottawa.
Learn More:
Ensuring the sovereignty and security of Canadian health data
The catch-22 of Canadian digital sovereignty
e-Health Conference and Tradeshow
Summary:
00:00 Why Canada's health data matters in the age of AI
01:41 Kumanan's journey: from public health to building an immunization app
03:38 Michael Geist's path: law, tech policy, privacy & data
05:22 Defining data sovereignty
09:40 When laws collide
15:27 Health benefit vs economic benefit
20:43 Practical safeguards and strategies
26:23 Learning from global examples
30:15 Closing reflections
Music: RetroFuture Clean and Breakdown, by Kevin MacLeod. Used under Creative Commons.