opinion: data and ai tools could dispel myth of doctor shortage in canada

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the same data-driven approach that successfully helped millions of people access vaccines during the height of the covid-19 pandemic can be utilized to identify and connect patients with available family doctors.

by ryan doherty

published oct 31, 2023

last updated feb 21, 2025

4 minute read

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4 minute read

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data and ai tools could dispel myth of doctor shortage in canada

the essential ingredient for improving health care in the digital age is accurate, up-to-date information shared widely by multiple stakeholders. getty images

“does anyone have a recommendation for a family doctor?” is a question to which no canadian is immune. the prevailing myth that there are not enough general practitioners available to treat us all is diverting our attention from a critical solution.

the same data-driven approach that successfully helped millions of people access vaccines during the height of the covid-19 pandemic can be utilized to identify and connect patients with available family doctors.

what’s more, this frees up precious time and resources, directing our healthcare decision makers to what truly matters: enhancing the overall quality of care for all canadians.

right now, about 6.5 million canadians do not have a family doctor or nurse practitioner, according to data released in april. that’s about 20 per cent of the population, and an increase of two million people since 2019.

at the same time, there are currently more family doctors per capita in canada than in the last 20 years – about 124 per 100,000 residents, according to a dalhousie university study. where is the disconnect? it’s how we collect and share critical data and the need to modernize it. data researchers have found evidence there isn’t so much a doctor shortage here, but a gap in data literacy and management.

politicians and healthcare system planners are in panic mode trying to address the crisis, but the proposals currently on the table – billions in band-aid spending, international recruitment, medical-school expansion – are not new and have not solved the ongoing problem.

we have all the latest digital tools and data at our fingertips to book travel, share rides and order pizza, but when it comes to accessing health care, canadians are still living in the yellow pages era of the 1970s, when they had to seek out a doctor in the phone book.

healthcare system planners and administrators have been slow to adapt to data-driven solutions and ai tools to improve access to healthcare, largely due to unknown risks. those risks dissolve quickly in a public health crisis.

data-driven medicine was crucial in helping canadians navigate every stage of the pandemic, from the first cases to the lifting of public-health precautions. digital tools and data sharing pinpointed the most serious covid-19 outbreaks in seniors’ residences, and wastewater monitoring served as an early-warning system to identify spread and variants.

after vaccines became available, data researchers and their community-driven initiatives acquired a huge and growing knowledge base. data analysis quickly helped ensure vaccine supplies reached the most vulnerable first, and tracked the evolution of variants before they overwhelmed us.

the essential ingredient for improving health care in the digital age is accurate, up-to-date information shared widely by multiple stakeholders. data and ai tools have emerged as a first line of defence in facing public-health threats, not just covid-19. they have made a huge difference in tracking other infectious disease and bacterial outbreaks, or reducing waits and stress in receiving benefits for on-the-job injuries.

we now find ourselves in a health-care access crisis. so why are we hesitating to use data to get a grip on it? the main reason is that provincial government programs rely on unreliable data frameworks. programs designed to connect people with doctors taking new patients are usually out of date by several months or even years. contact information and hours of operation are often stale because data partnerships and processes to keep it fresh are missing.

data researchers and ai tools can provide a data governance framework to ensure data quality that governments currently lack. it’s time to enrich and share this framework with the same urgency that drove our pandemic response so more people get the access to care they deserve.

implementing modernized data-sharing frameworks would have impressive ripple effects throughout the health system: more doctors will feel at ease about sharing relevant information, intake processes and availability; fewer people will have to rely on walk-in clinics and emergency rooms for primary care, significantly reducing wait times; and health planners will have a wealth of information at their fingertips to measure health outcomes using predictive ai tools.

canada is a leader in data science and ai technology that is tailor-made to address this crisis, and ai innovators have already started piloting and demonstrating solutions. we do not have to import the talent or the resources to build these data frameworks.

it is frustrating that governments have been slow to accept that modernizing health-care data frameworks is critical to improving health-care access. if our federal and provincial health officials are not serious about deploying data frameworks and ai tools to connect health providers with patients, then access to primary health care will be an ongoing problem.

the risks and expense of digital health have come down exponentially, and data tools saved many lives during the pandemic. the real risk to patients is in not pursuing data solutions in a meaningful way, with more canadians finding themselves cut off from quality health care.

there are millions of canadians without a family doctor counting on us to come up with a modern solution, once and for all.

ryan doherty is the founder of empower health.