Amplify Care at AFHTO 2025: Driving Digital Adoption and Innovation in Primary Care

Just last week, members of the Amplify Care team were thrilled to participate in the Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario (AFHTO) conference on the power of primary care in Toronto. This annual gathering brings together primary care leaders, clinicians, and innovators from across Ontario to share knowledge, showcase the latest ground-breaking initiatives, and explore strategies to strengthen care delivery. For our team, it was an invaluable opportunity to connect with partners, learn from colleagues, and highlight our work supporting digital adoption in primary care.

Sharing Our Approach to Digital Adoption

At the conference, Amplify Care delivered a presentation led by Wendy Lang, Clinical Change Management Lead, and Lisa Harman, Manager, Knowledge Translation and Evaluation. Their session focused on how co-design, relationship-building, and continuous learning support clinics in adopting digital tools effectively. Through our human-centered change management and practice facilitation model, we work with clinics to implement technology in ways that:

• Reduce administrative burden
• Create practice efficiencies
• Enable proactive care interventions
• Enhance both clinician and patient experiences

Rather than offering a “one-size-fits-all” solution, our approach is tailored to the unique needs of each clinic. We provide hands-on guidance, help clinics apply quality improvement methods, and track outcomes to ensure meaningful, long-term impact. The presentation demonstrated that even incremental changes can build quality improvement capacity and foster sustainable improvements in clinical care.

Learning from the Broader Primary Care Community

AFHTO offered a rich environment for learning and collaboration. Our team attended sessions covering topics such as strengthening primary care teams, increasing patient attachment, and improving care quality across diverse settings. We were inspired by presentations from other innovators in the field, including:

• Horizon Health Network (New Brunswick), which highlighted how co-design and collaboration can transform patient experiences.
• Hamilton Family Health Team (HFHT), showcasing approaches to patient attachment through community partnerships, outreach, and tools like Ocean eReferrals and data dashboards.
• Sessions led by Duff Sprague and George Smitherman explored how primary care teams can strengthen their operations for the future, while insights from Monica Aggarwal emphasized the attributes of high-performing primary care systems and the continued need for reform to sustain them.

Making an Impression (and Popcorn!) at Our Booth

Beyond presentations, our booth was a hub of engagement throughout the event. Attendees were eager to learn more about how Amplify Care supports clinics in integrating digital tools. And, of course, our popcorn machine was a hit — so much so that it took a full team effort to keep it running. Even Ted Alexander, Vice President of Partnerships and Clinical Innovation, got in on the action, helping to clean the machine between rounds of kernels!

The popcorn may have drawn a crowd, but the real highlight was the lively conversations about digital adoption, workflow improvements, and quality improvement.

Key Takeaways from AFHTO 2025

1. Digital adoption works best when it’s human-centered. Technology alone does not improve care—clinicians need support, guidance, and a framework for continuous learning.
2. Small changes can have a big impact. Incremental workflow adjustments can build QI capacity and produce long-term benefits for both patients and clinicians.
3. Collaboration and co-design are essential. Engaging teams in designing and implementing changes fosters buy-in and sustainable results.
4. Data-driven decision-making strengthens outcomes. Interpreting and using data effectively helps clinics track progress and refine interventions.

Looking Ahead

AFHTO 2025 reinforced the power of collaboration, innovation, and shared learning in primary care. For Amplify Care, it was a chance to celebrate the progress we’ve made with partner clinics, share insights from our approach, and continue building connections with other innovators across Ontario.

We look forward to continuing these conversations throughout the year and supporting primary care teams in leveraging digital tools to improve clinician and patient experiences.