Amplify Care at Digital Health Canada ON 26

Last week, many of us from the Amplify Care team headed to Toronto to attend the Digital Health Canada Ontario 2026 Conference (formerly UpOnDigital: The Update on Ontario Digital Health). This annual conference is one of the most important gatherings in Ontario’s digital health calendar, bringing together public and private sector leaders, innovators, and practitioners to share updates and insights on how digital health is shaping care for patients and care teams alike.

Patient-Centred Care Remains Front and Centre

One theme was clear throughout the event: digital transformation isn’t just about technology, it’s about people. Keynote speakers Matt Anderson and Deborah Richardson emphasized that healthcare systems must be patient-centred and grounded in real-world challenges. The most effective solutions support clinicians, care teams, and patients in practice, not just in theory. Let’s break down the key themes that resonated this year.

Digital Infrastructure as a Foundation

We also heard repeatedly that digital infrastructure is foundational, not optional. Properly built and maintained, it improves access to care, reduces duplication, and better supports those delivering healthcare. It’s a reminder that investments in infrastructure are critical to enable meaningful transformation, rather than being treated as secondary initiatives.

Moving Toward a Connected Ecosystem

A shift is underway from single systems to a connected ecosystem, one that prioritizes simplification, interoperability, and scalable “plug-and-play” solutions. Ontario’s digital health landscape is increasingly focused on clarity, efficiency, and creating pathways that make adoption easier for everyone involved.

Implementation is Where Impact Happens

Speakers like Alexis Villa reinforced what we at Amplify Care know well: technology alone does not transform care, but rather, implementation does. Success depends on supporting people to integrate and use solutions effectively. In his panel presentation, Glen Kearns echoed this by highlighting the importance of “Day Two”, the ongoing optimization and support that ensures systems continue to deliver long-term value. Without dedicated teams and attention beyond deployment, even the best tools can fall short.

Key Takeaway for Amplify Care

Overall, the conference was a powerful reminder that meaningful digital transformation lives in the hands of the people using the tools: clinicians, care teams, and the patients these tools impact. At Amplify Care, we are proud to focus on exactly that: ensuring solutions are adopted, integrated, and truly make a difference in practice.

The Ontario digital health landscape is evolving rapidly, and we’re motivated by the government’s recent announcement that they are investing $3.4B through 2029 in modernizing primary care, including plans to build a province-wide Primary Care Medical Record system, underscores the opportunity to build integrated, patient-centred systems. For anyone involved in digital health, whether as a clinician, policymaker, or innovator, the message is clear: invest in people, support adoption, and build systems that work in the real world.