The Ontario government has launched a competitive procurement process to create a new provincewide Primary Care Medical Record system, a key step in its plan to connect every resident to a family doctor or primary care team by 2029.
The process, led by Supply Ontario, will establish a Vendor of Record arrangement for the system, which is intended to securely integrate patient records, cut down on paperwork for primary care providers and improve continuity of care. The initiative falls under Ontario’s $3.4-billion Primary Care Action Plan.
“Our government continues to deliver on our plan to connect every person in Ontario to a family doctor, nurse practitioner or primary care team by 2029,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “Patients should never have to worry that important health information isn’t available when they need care. Once complete, the new provincewide Primary Care Medical Record system will securely connect patient information, reduce duplication and help health-care providers deliver faster, more connected and coordinated care.”
The system would let doctors securely create, access and manage digital patient information, including medical histories, diagnoses, medications and test results. The province says that while about 90 per cent of Ontario family physicians already use electronic medical records, the current landscape remains fragmented, often forcing patients to repeat medical tests or retell their health history as they move between clinicians.
Officials say the new system would also eliminate fees patients often pay to transfer records and would give authorized clinicians a more complete view of a patient’s health information, with appropriate consent.
“Primary care clinicians need modern tools that allow them to spend more time with patients and less time managing paperwork,” said Dr. Jane Philpott, Chair of the Primary Care Action Team. “A provincewide Primary Care Medical Record system will help reduce administrative burden, improve access to information and support better care for patients across Ontario.”
The province is working with OntarioMD, which specializes in electronic medical record certification and implementation, on the system’s development. Interested parties can respond to the Request for Bids through the Ontario Tenders Portal starting this week.
The government says nearly 90 per cent of Ontarians are currently able to access primary care, and that more than 400,000 people have been connected to care since the Primary Care Action Plan launched, surpassing its first-year target of 300,000. Ontarians can register for primary care through Health Care Connect at ontario.ca/healthcareconnect or by calling 811.
