Mandate interoperability—and hurry up about it: Take a look at the Digital Health Interoperability Task Force’s submission to Health Canada

The Digital Health Interoperability Task Force has made a hefty submission to Health Canada—and among its many suggestions for “unlocking connected care,” are several asking the government to pony up some cash. Specifically, in helping Canada’s healthcare workforce adapt to a system of true interoperability, the task force wants to see direct-to-community funding. That means “targeted, predictable subsidies” so that small practices can get and start using the relevant technologies. The task force also wants to see funding for “hands-on training and change management.”“Interoperability . . . can no longer be left to goodwill; it must be mandated. It is no longer a choice; it is a national imperative. Without it, patients face repeated tests, medical errors and delayed care, while the country falls behind global digital health leaders,” the submission read.The task force itself was formed in 2024 and brings together major stakeholders including the Canadian Medical Association, Canada Health Infoway, the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.The submission goes on to say the burden of making sure the relevant technologies can work together needs to be on the companies creating them. “To ensure success, it is essential that all health technology solutions sold in or developed for Canada be mandated to meet interoperability standards and requirements and that they do so in a way that creates no additional burden or digital burnout for the clinician users,” it said, adding that achieving this would mean a strong regulatory framework and “elegant system designs.”Health information technology vendors also need to stop data blocking, which occurs when patients, clinicians or other authorized entities cannot see secure relevant health information “because of technical, contractual, policy, financial or other barriers.” Bill S-5, or the Connected Care for Canadians Act, aims to eliminate the practice of data blocking. “The legislation should also specifically prohibit any attempt to restrict data migration. This section of the legislation and its regulations must be carefully articulated to avoid unintended consequences and future disputes,” the submission said. The task force emphasized that the federal government will need to work with the provinces and territories to “adopt and mandate harmonized interoperability standards” and enforce prohibition of data blocking, and “should not hesitate to enforce application by order where such efforts fail.” The feds should also establish clear criteria to evaluate whether provincial or territorial requirements are “substantially similar” to the standards the feds put in place. Looking to healthcare professionals who would ultimately be using this new and improved system, the submission stressed that the potential to increase administrative burden on clinicians must be stemmed before it starts. “Clinicians are the primary generators and stewards of health data. Without their active participation, the vision of longitudinal, comprehensive health records will remain elusive.”As it stands, the many pockets of Canada’s health data cannot easily come together as one. “Much of the information is unstructured or non-standardized and not easily interoperable.” As such, mandating the sharing of that data will need to be accompanied by “thoughtful planning” and proper funding and resources. “We need to avoid exacerbating an already significant problem: the administrative burden of clinicians, much of which has been created by the technology surrounding them,” the task force wrote. “The responsibility for creating interoperable data must not fall on the clinician, but rather on the software; coding for interoperability should occur automatically. Imposing any data-sharing requirements without support could lead to more burnout, financial strain and depleted morale. To avoid this consequence, the federal government should define and enforce mechanisms for sustained ongoing engagement of clinicians in governance, standard-setting and implementation decision-making.”The submission also stressed that the fundamental lack of infrastructure can’t be swept away using artificial intelligence. Rather, for AI to fulfill its potential usefulness in Canadian healthcare, interoperability must be established first. “The distinction is critical,” the submission read. “AI definitely has a role to play in Canadian healthcare, and it has shown promise in several areas, like reducing redundant testing. However, AI cannot solve the fundamental structural fragmentation of Canada’s health systems, EMR isolation or the crushing administrative burden this causes clinicians. Believing otherwise risks diverting resources and attention from building the foundational infrastructure that makes AI viable. Interoperability is the prerequisite for AI to deliver value.”The full 21-page submission can be viewed here. And those interested in the exact language of the Connected Care for Canadian Act—which reached its first reading in the Senate on Feb. 4, 2026—can read it here. Notably, the bill originally died when parliament was prorogued in 2025, but was recently revived by the federal government.

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