Canada targets health data interoperability through standards with new legislation

Legislation has been introduced in Canada to require healthcare IT companies to adopt common technical standards to enable privacy-protecting exchanges of health data. Making health data interoperable could solve a longstanding challenge facing Canadian patients and caregivers alike.

Bill S-5, the Connected Care for Canadians Act, was introduced in the Senate last week, and will have to gain approval from both houses of parliament and be signed into law before taking effect.

“The fact that fax machines are still used is entirely unacceptable,” the announcement from Health Canada grumbles. “The fact that Canadians have to walk around with printed copies of their health information, while other sectors have moved fully digital decades ago is unacceptable.”

Health data is generally not very portable in Canada, with 29 percent of primary care providers currently making patient information digitally available outside of their practice. Yet administration is burdening the system and those who work in it.

“Canada’s single payer system has created world class health data but its benefits are being missed,” says Canadian Institute for Health Information President and CEO Anderson Chuck in the government announcement. “Canadians feel these effects every day in delayed care, missed insights, and systems that cannot respond to their needs quickly enough. Establishing clear, connected, and privacy-protecting rules for data use puts patients first so they can achieve the best possible outcomes and quality of life.”

“By mandating health data interoperability, Connected Care for Canadians Act would support safer, more efficient care and empower patients,” says College of Family Physicians of Canada President Dr. Sarah Cook.

The government is clear that the legislation does not mandate the creation of a digital ID, a new platform or database of health records.

Foundations underway

Different levels of government are working together to implement the Pan-Canadian Interoperability Roadmap, established in 2023 by government-funded non-profit Canada Health Infoway.

The Province of Alberta launched a mobile health ID and a digital wallet to store it in last year to give residents the ability to share their healthcare data. And Quebec set the foundation for a digital identity and wallet rollout when it passed Bill 82 in October.

The move also aligns with the strategic vision for the country set out in a January paper from the Digital ID and Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC). The “Canada’s Digital Trust Imperative” paper notes common delays in healthcare worker credential verification when moving from one province to another within Canada, and singles out the sector as a priority for improving with digital credentials.

DIACC’s partnership with SIROS Foundation formed last year includes work on healthcare sector licensing, and the organization’s 2025 impact report notes patient identity verification as a major expansion opportunity.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  Canada  |  data exchange platform  |  DIACC  |  digital ID  |  healthcare  |  identity verification  |  interoperability  |  legislation  |  patient identification