Amplifying Innovation: Our CEO Joins “Behind the Business” Podcast

The “Behind the Business” podcast, presented by Gore Mutual and hosted by Ian McLean, spotlights leaders shaping the future of the Kitchener-Waterloo region and beyond.

In a recent episode, Amplify Care CEO Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia joined the conversation to share about our journey: from streamlining administrative workflows to evaluating and supporting AI-powered solutions that are transforming access to care across Canada.

Amplifying Voices: Patients and Clinicians at the Centre

A central theme of the conversation was this: technology in healthcare often fails because it doesn’t include the voices of the people who use it.

Amplify Care exists to change that.

Too often, clinicians are handed technology that increases burden rather than reducing it. Our mission is to amplify those voices, ensuring digital tools:

• Reduce administrative strain
• Improve transparency
• Strengthen trust between patients and care professionals
• Support care rather than distract from it

As Dr. Alarakhia emphasized, meaningful innovation must serve both sides of the care relationship.

From Burnout to Breakthrough: Why Amplify Care Was Created

Amplify Care was founded with a clear purpose: to solve real problems in healthcare, starting with administrative burden.

As Dr. Alarakhia shared during the interview, administrative burden is one of the biggest barriers preventing clinicians from achieving work-life balance and also from serving more patients. When doctors spend hours on paperwork, referrals, and follow-ups, that’s time taken away from patient care.

One of the first challenges we tackled was specialist referrals. In a fax-based system, physicians often send multiple referrals before one is accepted. Patients are left waiting in uncertainty. It’s inefficient and stressful, for everyone involved.

By implementing digital referral technology in partnership with government and innovators, we’ve helped:

• Process 4.4 million+ referrals in Ontario alone
• Scale solutions across the country
• Provide full transparency so patients can track referral status and confirm appointments online
• Gather feedback from 150,000+ patients, with overwhelmingly positive responses

We’re excited to share that we are now working across six provinces across the country to digitally enable better, more efficient care.

AI in Healthcare: Building Trust, Not Replacing Humans

A major highlight of the interview was the emerging role of artificial intelligence (AI), not as a replacement for clinicians, but as a powerful support system.

Examples discussed include:

AI for Administrative Relief

With Ontario facing a projected shortfall of 3,000 medical office assistants in the coming years, AI tools can:

• Answer multiple calls simultaneously
• Communicate in multiple languages
• Book appointments automatically
• Free up front-desk staff to focus on complex patient needs

AI Clinical Support

AI assistants can:

• Surface treatment suggestions
• Support personalized medicine
• Help manage population health
• Reduce documentation time (AI scribes can save clinicians ~3 hours per week)

That reclaimed time translates directly into more patient access.

AI Patient Coaching

Emerging tools, like AI health coaches for chronic disease management, can provide reminders, encouragement, and lifestyle guidance through apps. In one recent journal study referenced in the conversation, an AI diabetes coach performed comparably to a human coach.

The future? AI “agents” becoming part of care teams: handling routine tasks so clinicians can focus on human connection and complex decision-making.

Innovation Clinics & a Stronger Ecosystem

Dr. Alarakhia also highlighted the importance of innovation-friendly environments, places where startups, clinicians, and government collaborate to test and scale solutions safely.

With a network of 700+ engaged physicians, as well as many engaged clinicians, strong academic partnerships, and close ties to health system leaders, Waterloo Region provides a powerful testing ground.

Our model is simple:

1. Identify complex (“wicked”) healthcare challenges
2. Test solutions locally with the right safeguards
3. Evaluate rigorously
4. Scale successful models provincially and nationally

This approach has allowed us to expand across Canada and positions us for continued growth.

The Road Ahead

Looking forward, Amplify Care’s priorities include:

• Reducing the 20 million hours of unnecessary paperwork draining clinicians
• Ensuring every patient is attached to primary care with timely access
• Strengthening information flow across primary care, hospitals, home care, and mental health
• Expanding team-based and integrated care
• Continuing expansion across Canada

As Dr. Alarakhia shared, the goal is clear: create a future model of primary care where clinicians can focus on being clinicians, patients feel supported and informed, and technology works quietly in the background to make it all possible.

Listen Now

We’re proud to see our CEO spotlighted on Behind the Business. The conversation reflects not only how far we’ve come, but the bold, collaborative future we’re building.

Listen to the full episode here or access it on Spotify, Apple Music & Amazon Music & more – and join us in amplifying care across Canada.