Why Digital Standards Matter for Your Practice

Dear SGFP Members,

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been rolling out a series of updates on our digital health roadmap, starting with its launch and a deeper look at why governance must be fixed first. In light of the recent announcement of the future provincewide Primary Care Medical Record system, our roadmap is even more relevant. We committed to taking you through each pillar in turn, outlining the practical changes that would make your digital environment safer, more stable, and less burdensome. For those looking for a high-level overview, our Digital Health team has also created a short five-minute video that walks through the full roadmap.

This week, I’m passing the pen to our Digital Health team to walk through Pillars 2 and 3 of A Foundational Reset: An Actionable Roadmap for Ontario’s Digital Health.

Warm Regards,

Dr. Dave Barber

Chair, SGFP

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Dear Colleagues,

With governance as the first pillar, the next step in strengthening Ontario’s digital health environment is stabilizing the foundation every clinic depends on. Pillars 2 and 3 focus on creating the standards and connections that make digital tools reliable, secure, and supportive of patient care — not additional burdens on your day.

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Pillar 2: Provincial Standards for a Safe, Functional Baseline

Across Ontario, clinics operate with uneven infrastructure, connectivity, cybersecurity, staffing, and privacy support. These gaps translate directly into daily frustration, workflow disruption, and risk.

Pillar 2 calls for mandatory provincial minimum digital standards that ensure every clinic has:

• reliable, secure connectivity
• modern, supported infrastructure
• cybersecurity protections that meet provincial expectations
• adequate staffing and training for digital operations
• consistent, enforceable privacy practices

Family physicians should not be left to troubleshoot failing systems or absorb the risks of inadequate digital infrastructure. A provincial standard is essential to equity, safety, and stability.

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Pillar 3: A Digital Attachment Backbone That Actually Connects the System

Pillar 3 focuses on building a digital backbone that connects information at the source of truth — the clinic EMR — so data moves cleanly and automatically.

This includes:

• creating digital attachment from the EMR
• eliminating batch faxing and setting a path to sunset faxing entirely
• routing information securely without manual workarounds
• connecting to a single provincial patient portal

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These changes are not about adding new tools. They are about fixing the underlying plumbing so the tools you already use can function properly.

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Why This Matters for Your Practice

When the system is unstable, the imposed burden falls on you and your teams. Pillars 2 and 3 are about removing that burden, not by asking clinics to do more, but by requiring the system to do better.

We look forward to sharing the next pillars in the coming weeks as we continue advocating for a digital environment that supports, rather than strains, front-line family medicine.

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Sincerely,

The SGFP Digital Health Team

Dr. Kevin Brophy, Physician Lead

Barbra McCaffrey, Co-Lead

Dr. Anushiya Ganeshalingam

Dr. Naila Kassam

Dr. Stan Spacek

Dr. Keith Thompson