Government & Policy
Acid test for new health tech: Does it improve the patient experience?
January 31, 2025
TORONTO – Health Minister Sylvia Jones asserts that the Ontario government isn’t simply looking to reduce costs when it comes to backing innovations. Instead, it’s seeking new ways of improving the patient experience.
Of course, if cost reductions come with those innovations, that’s a welcome bonus. But improving the patient journey, overall, is the key consideration, she said.
“What are our expectations of industry?” she asked at the international Advamed medical technology conference, which was held for the first time in Canada last October. “Don’t show me the ROI, show me how it will improve patient care.”
Minister Jones was part of a panel addressing the issue of how medical innovations can reduce wait times in the healthcare system. The panel was moderated by Patrick Daly, global VP of medTech markets for IQVIA USA. It also included James Brodie, general manager of Johnson & Johnson MedTech (JJMT) in Canada, and Nicole DeKort, president and CEO of Medtech Canada, the industry association.
Jones pointed out how the COVID crisis showed healthcare providers how they could dramatically shift the way they delivered services.
For example, virtual care proved to be a lifeline for many patients during the pandemic, as hospitals and clinics were seeing, in person, only the most urgent cases.
But Jones emphasized that virtual care didn’t enhance the experience of all patients, and still doesn’t. For example, elderly and infirm patients who either don’t understand computer technology or lack the dexterity to use it, do not benefit from virtual care. For them, it’s a poor experience.
“Videoconferencing is often not appropriate,” said Jones.
At the same time, she acknowledged that remote care is often a great experience for some patients. It’s all a matter of suitability.
She gave the example of a patient in Northern Ontario who came to Toronto’s University Health Network for cardiac surgery. In a test of a new technology, the patient is now using a smartwatch to monitor his post-surgery condition, with his health supervised remotely by the team in Toronto.
“That’s saving him trips to Toronto of 20 hours for follow-ups,” said Jones. “He doesn’t have to travel. Instead, the monitoring is done through the smartwatch.”
It’s a prime example of how technology can be used to enhance the patient experience.
Jones also pointed to how technology can be used to improve the provider experience. She cited the recent trial of AI scribe technology, in partnership with the Ontario Medical Association, in which 150 family physicians have been trialing the technology.
AI scribes can monitor a patient encounter, transcribe the conversation, create a summary, and even fill out various forms and write letters for the doctor.
The pilot, in its initial phase, showed time savings of three to four hours per week for the physicians. That’s a huge advantage, as doctors worldwide have been suffering from a crushing burden of paperwork and administrative tasks.
“It’s a game changer,” said Jones. “Anecdotally, it’s looking very positive.”
IQVIA’s Daly asked the panelists to cite other examples of how medical innovations have been impacting the healthcare system and reducing waitlists.
James Brodie, of Johnson & Johnson Canada, noted that medical robots promise to advance efficiencies and reproducibility in the operating room, with the potential for a better patient experience.
Infection rates are reduced, patients spend less time in hospital and tend to recover much faster than with traditional surgeries. In the case of robot-assisted knee surgery, for example, the rehab time has been reduced from six weeks down to just three.
“Robotic assisted procedures are accelerating in Canada, particularly in the orthopedic space,” said Brodie.
He observed that further changes in medical robotics are on the horizon, with the possibility of applying more AI to the systems and connecting them across the world to collect data.
“The promise is in connecting devices to create machine learning robots,” said Brodie. This could conceivably include linking robots across the globe to proactively understand what type of procedures, implants, and post-operative protocols might be best suited for a specific patient cohort.
“Globally, from the data, you could find the best therapies and rehab practices, essentially creating a real-world evidence-based approach to personalized care,” he said.
The J&J leader also discussed an advanced wound closure solution that has the potential to reduce infection rates, improving the patient experience in procedures as varied as knee replacement and Caesarian section deliveries.
The approach may help patients spend less time in hospital and recover more quickly with the benefit of reducing surgical site infections and associated costs and patient impact.
It’s not only these advanced solutions, technological hardware, and software that produces innovation, the speakers stressed. The legislative and regulatory framework is also a big factor.
Minister Jones observed that the patient experience in Ontario has been vastly improved by the expansion of the scope of practice for pharmacists and midwives, for example.
“We have to let professionals work at the highest level possible,” said Jones. A great example of this, she said, has been the expansion of scope of practice for pharmacists, enabling them to diagnose certain medical conditions and prescribe medications for them.
“If patients don’t have a family doctor, and the only option was the ER, the pharmacist can now be an option,” she said.
“We don’t want to discourage anyone from the ER, but we want them to have choices.”
Another example, she stated, can be found with midwives.
They’re now allowed to order certain lab tests. “Instead of waiting for a primary care doctor to order the tests, midwives can now do it.”
These regulatory changes are improving the experience of patients. “They’re also building capacity in the healthcare system,” said Jones, as patient flow is improved.
Partnerships among the key players – government, providers, and industry – are necessary for innovation and high-quality care to take place, the speakers agreed.
Medtech Canada’s Nicole DeKort gave a personal example. She was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
“I had just turned 50, and it was caught early,” said DeKort.
She said the government-sponsored screening program, high-quality mammography, and skilled professionals all combined to spot the tumour in its earliest stage. “By the time I would have been able to feel it, my outcome wouldn’t have been as positive as it is today.”