4 | Technology tools that can support operational efficiency and improve access to care

This tip sheet, Using your EMR to its fullest to increase access to primary health care (Alliance for Healthier Communities, 2025), contains information (including screenshots!) on how to use various features of the EMR TELUS PS Suite in order to optimize your providers' capacity. These include:

• Colour-coding cancelled appointments in the schedule
• Sending appointment reminders and forms to clients in advance of their appointments
• Optimizing encounter forms for different provider types
• Creating and using toolbars effectively
• Making use of reminders and reminder reports

These tools can help prevent unfilled gaps in your providers' schedules, reduce time spent charting, and reduce the need for additional appointments.  

Need help? Email QI@AllianceON.org(link sends e-mail) for guidance and coaching support.

Appropriate use of virtual care can make it easier for some clients to access care and reduce the likelihood of no-shows. It can enable some staff to work remotely some or all of the time, which can improve morale and work-life balance, supporting recruitment and retention. By reducing the number of on-site appointments, it can reduce waiting-room traffic and make it easier to optimize your use of clinic space. 

These resources can help you understand the barriers and enablers to successful implementation of virtual care in primary health care settings, and they can help inform decisions about whether to implement or expand virtual care in your organization and, if so, how to do so without jeopardizing safety or quality of care.

• Strategies and Tools to Support Equity, Safety and Quality in Virtual Care | Recorded Webinar (Alliance for Healthier Communities, Healthcare Excellence Canada, Canada Health Infoway, and Ontario Health, 2023
• Providing safe and high-quality virtual care: A guide for new and experienced users | Clinician Change Virtual Care Toolkit (Healthcare Excellence Canada & Canada Health Infoway, 2022).
• Virtual Care During COVID-19 and Implications for Future Care Delivery | Case Study (Grand Bend CHC, 2020).
• Virtual Care During COVID-19 and Implications for Future Care Delivery | Virtual Care Research Study Conference Presentation (Alliance for Healthier Communities, 2020).
• Virtual Care Resources for Healthcare Providers and Healthcare Leaders: Webside Manner | Infographic (Healthcare Excellence Canada, 2020)

 

AI scribes are increasingly being used to transcribe conversations and create clinical notes during health care encounters. Emerging evidence suggests that these tools can reduce the time and effort required for charting and can improve care by allowing providers to focus on their clients rather than their EMRs. The landscape for these tools is still rapidly evolving. These resources can help you navigate it.

• Clinical Evaluation of Artificial Intelligence and Automation Technology to Reduce Administrative Burden in Primary Care (OntarioMD, Women's College Hospital Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care, and the eHealth Centre of Excellence, 2024)
• AI Knowledge Zone (OntarioMD)
• AI Learning Centre (Centre for Effective Practice)

The Alliance is committed to helping our members make decisions about choosing and implementing AI scribes. In January 2025, the Alliance and Ontario MD co-presented a webinar about the Clinical Evaluation of AI scribes listed above, as well as Ontario MD's ongoing process to create a Vendor of Record arrangement for AI scribe tools. You can watch the recording at right and access the slide deck here.

As discussed in the webinar, the Alliance has convened a community of practice for AI Scribe users in our sector, as well as a working group that is developing a Request for Quote to help us identify a common vendor for our members. Email IMS@AllianceON.org to learn more or get involved. 

In September 2024, the Alliance conducted an informal survey of our member organizations to help us understand how they are using these tools and whether they are finding them to be beneficial. Staff from 39 Alliance member organizations responded. What they shared with us was used to create these documents.

• Member Survey Report Summary
• Appendix A: Alliance Members using Technology Tools

We hope that you will benefit from the insights and experiences shared by your peers. If you would more information about the survey or the technologies mentioned in the survey findings, or if you would like help connecting with organizations that are using them, reach out to us at QI@AllianceON.org. 

You may also be interested in the following external resources: 

• How Better use of Technology Can Free Up Time for Better Care (Institute for Healthcare Improvement 2024).