Healthcare IT Solutions in Canada

Big0 provides comprehensive healthcare IT solutions designed specifically for Canada's unique healthcare landscape, combining provincial and federal requirements with cutting-edge technology. Our healthcare software helps medical practices, hospitals, health systems, pharmaceutical companies, and health tech startups deliver better patient care while navigating complex regulatory requirements.

Operating across Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, and Ottawa, we understand the intricacies of Canada's healthcare system: provincial health insurance plans (OHIP, MSP BC, RAMQ, AHS), federal privacy regulations (PIPEDA), provincial privacy laws (PHIPA, PIPA), electronic health record standards (HL7 FHIR), and Canada Health Infoway initiatives. Our solutions help healthcare organizations modernize while maintaining compliance and patient safety.

Why Canadian Healthcare Organizations Choose Big0

Provincial Health System Expertise Deep knowledge of provincial healthcare systems including OHIP (Ontario), MSP BC (British Columbia), RAMQ (Quebec), AHS (Alberta), and other provincial health authorities, with experience integrating with provincial systems and billing codes.

Healthcare Privacy Compliance Comprehensive understanding of Canadian healthcare privacy requirements including PIPEDA (federal), PHIPA (Ontario), PIPA (BC and Alberta), Quebec's health privacy provisions, and other provincial regulations.

Clinical Standards Implementation Expertise in healthcare interoperability standards including HL7 FHIR, HL7 v2.x, DICOM for medical imaging, IHE profiles, and CDA (Clinical Document Architecture).

Canada Health Infoway Alignment Our solutions align with Canada Health Infoway initiatives and pan-Canadian standards for digital health, supporting the vision of connected health across provinces.

Comprehensive Healthcare IT Services

Electronic Medical Records (EMR) & Electronic Health Records (EHR)

Custom EMR Development Building tailored EMR systems for medical practices and clinics including patient charting and documentation, clinical decision support, e-prescribing with Health Canada DPD integration, order entry and results management, billing integration with provincial systems, and appointment scheduling.

EMR Integration & Enhancement Enhancing existing EMR systems with custom features including patient portal integration, telemedicine capabilities, clinical workflow automation, reporting and analytics, and third-party integration (labs, imaging, pharmacies).

Hospital Information Systems (HIS) Comprehensive HIS solutions for hospitals including admission, discharge, transfer (ADT), nursing documentation, physician order entry, clinical pathways, bed management, and emergency department systems.

Practice Management Systems Complete practice management including scheduling and appointment management, patient registration, insurance verification (provincial health cards), billing and claims submission, reporting and practice analytics, and inventory management.

Telemedicine & Virtual Care Platforms

Video Consultation Platforms PIPEDA and provincial privacy-compliant telehealth platforms including secure, encrypted video consultations, screen sharing for reviewing images/reports, e-prescribing integration, provincial billing code integration (virtual care codes), patient consent management, and mobile app support (iOS/Android).

Remote Patient Monitoring Connecting patients with providers between visits including integration with medical devices and wearables, vital signs tracking and alerts, chronic disease management, medication adherence monitoring, and secure patient-provider messaging.

Mental Health Platforms Specialized telepsychiatry and teletherapy solutions including therapy session scheduling and delivery, secure messaging between sessions, assessment and outcome tracking, crisis resource integration (Talk Suicide Canada, Crisis Services Canada), and compliance with mental health privacy requirements.

Provincial Telehealth Integration Integration with provincial virtual care programs including OTN (Ontario Telemedicine Network), Telehealth BC, Télésanté Québec, Alberta Netcare, and provincial telehealth billing systems.

Patient Portals & Engagement

Patient Portal Development Empowering patients with online access to their health information including secure authentication (multi-factor), health record access (visit summaries, lab results, imaging reports), appointment booking and management, prescription renewal requests, secure messaging with providers, and bilingual interface (English/French).

Patient Engagement Tools Improving patient activation and outcomes including educational content libraries, appointment reminders (SMS, email), medication reminders, health risk assessments, symptom checkers, and personalized care plans.

Family Access & Caregivers Supporting family involvement in care including dependent access (parents accessing children's records), caregiver delegation, proxy access for elderly or incapacitated patients, and privacy controls respecting patient consent.

Patient-Generated Health Data Incorporating data from patient devices including fitness tracker integration, home monitoring devices, patient-reported outcomes, food and symptom journaling, and integration into clinical workflows.

Healthcare Data Integration & Interoperability

HL7 FHIR Implementation Modern healthcare interoperability using HL7 FHIR including patient demographics, clinical observations and vitals, diagnostic reports, medications and allergies, immunizations, and care plans and referrals.

HL7 v2.x Integration Legacy system integration using HL7 v2.x for ADT messages (admissions, discharges, transfers), order entry and results, scheduling information, and billing and claims.

DICOM Integration Medical imaging integration including PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) integration, radiology workflow, image viewing and reporting, and integration with diagnostic imaging centers.

Provincial Health Information Exchange Connecting to provincial HIE initiatives including ClinicalConnect (Ontario), Island Health eHealth (BC), Dossier Santé Québec (Quebec), Alberta Netcare, and pan-Canadian health data exchange.

Laboratory Information Systems (LIS)

Clinical Laboratory Systems Complete LIS solutions for clinical labs including specimen tracking and accessioning, test order management, instrument integration, result validation and reporting, quality control and quality assurance, and regulatory compliance (CLIA, CAP).

Anatomical Pathology Specialized systems for pathology labs including surgical pathology workflow, cytology and histology, immunohistochemistry, molecular pathology, and synoptic reporting.

Laboratory Integration Connecting labs with healthcare providers including bidirectional HL7 integration, result delivery to EMRs, critical result alerting, and cumulative reporting.

Reference Laboratory Services Supporting reference lab operations including sample referral tracking, specialized test catalogs, result integration from external labs, and billing for referred tests.

Pharmacy & Medication Management

E-Prescribing Systems Electronic prescribing solutions including Health Canada Drug Product Database integration, prescription creation and transmission, drug interaction checking, allergy alerts, formulary checking, and controlled substance prescribing.

Hospital Pharmacy Systems Comprehensive pharmacy information systems including medication order processing, IV compounding, automated dispensing cabinet integration, medication administration records, and pharmaceutical care documentation.

Medication Reconciliation Reducing medication errors during transitions including admission medication history, discharge medication reconciliation, best possible medication history (BPMH), and integration with community pharmacy systems.

Pharmacy Benefit Management Managing medication coverage including provincial drug benefit programs (ODB, PharmaCare BC, RAMQ), private insurance coordination, prior authorization management, and patient assistance programs.

Medical Imaging Solutions

PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) Enterprise medical imaging solutions including DICOM image storage and retrieval, web-based image viewing, advanced visualization tools, multi-site image sharing, and disaster recovery and backup.

Radiology Information Systems (RIS) Workflow management for radiology departments including exam scheduling, order tracking, reporting and dictation, quality assurance, and billing integration.

Vendor Neutral Archive (VNA) Centralized medical image storage including multi-departmental imaging (radiology, cardiology, pathology), long-term archiving, image lifecycle management, and standards-based access.

AI-Powered Diagnostic Support Integrating AI for improved diagnostics including abnormality detection (lung nodules, fractures), image segmentation, prioritization of urgent findings, and quantitative analysis.

Clinical Decision Support

Evidence-Based Clinical Guidelines Integrating clinical best practices including national and provincial clinical guidelines, order sets and care pathways, clinical alerts and reminders, and quality measure tracking.

Drug-Drug Interaction Checking Preventing adverse drug events including comprehensive drug database, allergy checking, dose range verification, renal/hepatic dosing, and pregnancy/lactation warnings.

Risk Calculators & Scoring Clinical assessment tools including cardiovascular risk scores, sepsis screening, fall risk assessment, pressure ulcer risk, and disease-specific scoring systems.

Population Health Management Improving outcomes at population level including disease registry management, gap-in-care identification, preventive care reminders, chronic disease management, and quality reporting.

Healthcare IT for Canadian Provinces

Ontario Healthcare IT Solutions

Provincial Context: - Health Insurance: OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan) - Privacy Law: PHIPA (Personal Health Information Protection Act) - eHealth Ontario: Provincial digital health authority - ClinicalConnect: Provincial health information exchange - OTN: Ontario Telemedicine Network

Our Services: - PHIPA-compliant healthcare applications - OHIP billing integration - ClinicalConnect integration - OTN virtual care integration - Toronto hospital system experience

Key Healthcare Markets: Toronto (major hospital networks), Ottawa (government health IT), Southwestern Ontario (community hospitals), Northern Ontario (telehealth solutions)

British Columbia Healthcare IT Solutions

Provincial Context: - Health Insurance: MSP (Medical Services Plan) - Privacy Law: PIPA (Personal Information Protection Act) - Provincial Health Authority: BC Health - Island Health eHealth: HIE initiative - Telehealth BC: Virtual care program

Our Services: - PIPA-compliant healthcare software - MSP billing integration - Provincial health authority system integration - Telehealth BC integration - Vancouver and Victoria hospital experience

Key Healthcare Markets: Vancouver (major hospitals, health tech), Victoria (provincial health headquarters), Fraser Health region, Interior Health region

Quebec Healthcare IT Solutions

Provincial Context: - Health Insurance: RAMQ (Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec) - Privacy Law: Quebec privacy law (including health provisions) - Dossier Santé Québec: Provincial EHR - Télésanté Québec: Virtual care - Language Requirement: French-first healthcare IT

Our Services: - Bilingual healthcare applications (French primary) - RAMQ billing integration - Dossier Santé Québec integration - Quebec privacy law compliance - Montreal healthcare system experience

Key Healthcare Markets: Montreal (major hospital networks, research centers), Quebec City (provincial health administration), Laval, Gatineau

Alberta Healthcare IT Solutions

Provincial Context: - Health Insurance: AHS (Alberta Health Services) - Privacy Law: PIPA (Personal Information Protection Act) + HIA (Health Information Act) - Alberta Netcare: Provincial EHR - Connect Care: Provincial clinical information system - Telehealth Alberta: Virtual care

Our Services: - HIA and PIPA-compliant systems - AHS billing integration - Alberta Netcare integration - Connect Care compatibility - Calgary and Edmonton healthcare experience

Key Healthcare Markets: Calgary (major hospitals, medical research), Edmonton (University of Alberta Hospital, research), rural and remote healthcare needs

Other Provincial Healthcare IT

Saskatchewan: eHealth Saskatchewan, health information privacy laws, rural/remote healthcare challenges

Manitoba: eHealth Manitoba, PHIA (Personal Health Information Act), Winnipeg hospital systems

Atlantic Provinces: Smaller markets with shared services opportunities, unique rural healthcare needs, provincial health authorities

Territories: Extreme remote healthcare challenges, telemedicine critical, unique indigenous health needs

Healthcare Privacy & Compliance

PIPEDA (Federal Privacy Law)

Application: Applies to health information held by private sector organizations (private clinics, pharmacies, health tech companies) in provinces without substantially similar legislation.

Key Requirements: - Consent for collection, use, and disclosure - Limited collection to necessary purposes - Safeguarding personal health information - Openness about privacy practices - Individual access to their information - Breach notification requirements

Our Compliance Approach: Privacy by design, encryption of personal health information, access controls and audit logging, consent management, breach detection and response procedures, and privacy impact assessments.

PHIPA (Ontario)

Application: Governs personal health information in Ontario across all health information custodians (hospitals, physicians, pharmacies, labs, etc.).

Key Requirements: - Strict consent requirements (express or implied) - Circle of care concept for information sharing - Lockbox provisions for sensitive information - Patient access rights - Security safeguards - Privacy breach notification

Our PHIPA Compliance: Ontario-specific consent mechanisms, circle of care access controls, lockbox functionality for sensitive data, secure audit trails, encryption at rest and in transit, and privacy officer reporting tools.

PIPA (BC and Alberta)

Application: BC and Alberta's private sector privacy laws, applying to health information held by private healthcare organizations.

Key Requirements: - Consent for collection and use - Limited collection and use - Reasonable security safeguards - Individual access rights - Privacy breach management

Our PIPA Compliance: BC/Alberta specific consent workflows, reasonable security controls, access request handling, breach management procedures, and privacy policy frameworks.

Quebec Health Privacy

Application: Quebec's privacy law includes specific health information provisions, with RAMQ having additional requirements.

Key Requirements: - Heightened protection for health information - Strict consent requirements - Access rights and correction - Security safeguards - French-language privacy notices

Our Quebec Compliance: Law 25 compliance for health information, RAMQ security requirements, French privacy notices and consent forms, enhanced security for Quebec health data, and access and correction workflows.

Additional Compliance Considerations

Controlled Substances: Health Canada requirements for electronic prescribing of controlled drugs

Medical Device Software: Health Canada medical device regulations (Class I-IV), including Software as a Medical Device (SaMD)

Clinical Trial Data: ICH-GCP guidelines, Health Canada clinical trial regulations, research ethics board requirements

HIPAA Alignment: For cross-border health data sharing with US healthcare organizations

Industry-Specific Healthcare Solutions

Primary Care & Family Medicine

Family Practice EMR: Complete EMR for family physicians including cumulative patient profiles, preventive care tracking, chronic disease management, electronic prescribing, and OHIP/provincial billing.

Walk-In Clinic Systems: Fast-paced clinic workflow including quick patient registration, streamlined charting, point-of-care billing, and minimal documentation requirements.

Multi-Disciplinary Clinics: Supporting team-based care including shared patient records, interprofessional communication, collaborative care planning, and multi-provider billing.

Specialist Practices

Cardiology: Stress test and echo integration, ECG management, cardiac catheterization reporting, device clinic management

Oncology: Chemotherapy ordering and administration, treatment protocols, clinical trial management, tumor registry

Orthopedics: Surgical planning, joint registry, outcome tracking, imaging integration

OB/GYN: Prenatal care tracking, delivery notes, gynecology workflows

Hospital & Health Systems

Academic Medical Centers: Complex research integration, resident education tools, multi-specialty coordination, clinical trials management

Community Hospitals: Efficient workflows, limited IT resources, integration with regional health systems, rural outreach

Long-Term Care: Resident care planning, medication administration, family communication, regulatory compliance (provincial standards)

Mental Health & Addiction: Psychiatric assessment tools, treatment planning, group therapy management, crisis intervention

Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences

Clinical Trial Management: Patient recruitment and enrollment, electronic data capture (EDC), adverse event reporting, regulatory compliance (Health Canada, FDA)

Pharmacovigilance: Adverse event tracking, safety signal detection, regulatory reporting, post-market surveillance

Medical Affairs: Medical information management, scientific communication, healthcare provider engagement

Patient Support Programs: Medication access programs, patient education, adherence support, copay assistance

Health Technology Startups

Digital Therapeutics: Evidence-based therapeutic interventions, clinical validation, regulatory pathways (Health Canada SaMD)

Wellness & Prevention: Fitness and nutrition apps, mental health support, chronic disease prevention, health risk assessments

Care Coordination Platforms: Referral management, care transitions, social determinants of health, community resource connection

Health Data Analytics: Population health insights, predictive analytics, quality improvement, health economics research

Our Healthcare IT Development Process

1. Discovery & Planning (3-4 Weeks)

Clinical Workflow Analysis Observing and documenting current clinical workflows, pain points, inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement.

Regulatory Assessment Identifying applicable regulations (PIPEDA, PHIPA, PIPA, Health Canada), determining compliance requirements, and planning privacy and security controls.

Stakeholder Engagement Interviewing physicians, nurses, administrators, patients, and IT staff to understand diverse needs and priorities.

Technical Architecture Designing scalable, secure architecture including provincial integration points, interoperability standards, cloud vs. on-premise considerations, and disaster recovery.

2. Design & Prototyping (4-6 Weeks)

User Experience Design Creating intuitive interfaces optimized for clinical workflows with minimal clicks, mobile responsiveness for bedside use, and accessibility for diverse users.

Clinical Content Design Developing structured documentation templates, order sets and care protocols, clinical decision support rules, and reporting templates.

Privacy & Security Design Implementing role-based access control, audit logging, data encryption, consent management, and breach detection.

Prototyping & Validation Building interactive prototypes, conducting usability testing with clinicians, iterating based on feedback, and validating clinical workflows.

3. Development (12-24+ Weeks)

Agile Development Two-week sprints with regular clinical stakeholder demos, continuous integration and testing, and flexibility for workflow refinements.

Standards Implementation Building HL7 FHIR/v2.x interfaces, DICOM integration for imaging, provincial system connectors, and third-party integrations (labs, pharmacies).

Security Implementation Encryption at rest and in transit, penetration testing, security code review, and compliance validation.

Clinical Validation Testing with realistic clinical scenarios, validating clinical decision support accuracy, and ensuring patient safety.

4. Testing & Validation (6-8 Weeks)

Functional Testing Comprehensive testing of all features including positive and negative scenarios, error handling, and edge cases.

Integration Testing Validating all external integrations including provincial systems, labs and imaging, pharmacies and e-prescribing, and other EMRs/health systems.

Performance Testing Ensuring system performs under clinical load including concurrent user testing, database optimization, and stress testing.

Security & Privacy Testing Penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, privacy control validation, and compliance verification.

Clinical Acceptance Testing Physician and nurse testing in realistic scenarios, workflow validation, usability confirmation, and safety verification.

5. Implementation & Go-Live (8-12 Weeks)

Data Migration Migrating patient data from legacy systems including data mapping and transformation, validation of migrated data, and historical record preservation.

Training Comprehensive user training including physician training, nursing and allied health training, administrative staff training, and super-user development.

Phased Rollout Gradual implementation to manage risk including pilot department or clinic, lessons learned incorporation, and incremental expansion.

Go-Live Support Intensive support during go-live including on-site support staff, 24/7 help desk, rapid issue resolution, and workflow optimization.

6. Optimization & Support

Post-Implementation Optimization Refining workflows based on real usage including efficiency improvements, clinical feedback incorporation, and usability enhancements.

Ongoing Support Continuous technical and clinical support including help desk and technical support, system monitoring, security updates and patches, and feature enhancements.

Compliance Monitoring Ensuring ongoing regulatory compliance including privacy audits, security assessments, regulatory update implementation, and documentation maintenance.

Canadian Healthcare IT Success Stories

Multi-Site Family Practice EMR Implementation

Challenge: Family practice group with 8 clinics and 45 physicians across Ontario needed modern EMR to replace paper charts and outdated system, with OHIP billing integration.

Solution: Implemented cloud-based EMR with customized family medicine templates, OHIP billing integration and electronic claims, e-prescribing with Health Canada DPD, patient portal for appointment booking and prescription renewal, ClinicalConnect integration for hospital discharge summaries, and comprehensive training for physicians and staff.

Results: - 100% adoption across all 8 clinics - 12 minutes saved per patient encounter (better templates) - 95% electronic claims submission - 40% reduction in prescription phone calls (patient portal) - Improved chronic disease management with automated reminders - Successful PHIPA compliance audit

Provincial Telemedicine Platform - BC

Challenge: BC health authority needed PIPA-compliant telemedicine platform for virtual specialist consultations connecting rural communities to Vancouver specialists.

Solution: Built secure telehealth platform with encrypted video consultations (up to 10 participants), screen sharing for reviewing imaging and test results, MSP billing code integration for virtual care, patient consent management, mobile app for iOS and Android, integration with provincial health systems, and bilingual support (English with French capability).

Results: - 25,000+ virtual consultations in first year - 80% reduction in patient travel (rural to Vancouver) - 95% patient satisfaction - Full PIPA compliance - $2.1M in patient travel cost savings - Improved access to specialists in rural BC

Hospital Patient Portal - Quebec

Challenge: Montreal hospital network serving 800,000 patients needed bilingual patient portal providing access to health records and appointment booking with Dossier Santé Québec integration.

Solution: Developed comprehensive patient portal with French as primary language (English secondary), secure patient authentication with multi-factor options, access to lab results, imaging reports, visit summaries, appointment booking across multiple hospital sites, prescription renewal requests, secure messaging with providers, integration with Dossier Santé Québec, and Quebec privacy law compliance.

Results: - 120,000 patients registered in first year - 65,000 appointments booked online - 45% reduction in appointment booking calls - 92% patient satisfaction rating - Full compliance with Quebec privacy requirements - Reduced administrative burden on clinical staff

Clinical Lab Information System - Ontario

Challenge: Regional laboratory network processing 1.5 million tests annually needed modern LIS replacing 20-year-old system, with bidirectional integration to 50+ physician clinics.

Solution: Implemented comprehensive LIS with specimen tracking and accessioning, instrument integration (15 analyzers), automated result validation, HL7 integration to EMRs, critical result alerting, quality control management, regulatory compliance reporting, and web-based result access for physicians.

Results: - 30% improvement in lab efficiency - 50% reduction in manual data entry - Real-time result delivery to EMRs - 95% first-run validation rate - Successful CAP inspection - Improved patient safety through automated critical alerts

Healthcare IT Pricing for Canada

EMR Development (Small Practice)

CAD $75,000 - $200,000 - 1-5 physician practice - Core EMR functionality - Provincial billing integration - E-prescribing - Basic reporting - Training and support - Timeline: 6-9 months

EMR Development (Multi-Physician)

CAD $200,000 - $500,000 - 6-20 physician practice - Advanced EMR features - Patient portal - Clinical decision support - Practice analytics - Multiple provincial integration - Training and change management - Timeline: 9-12 months

Telemedicine Platform

CAD $100,000 - $350,000 - Secure video consultations - Patient scheduling and intake - E-prescribing integration - Provincial billing integration - Mobile apps (iOS/Android) - Privacy compliance (PIPEDA/PHIPA/PIPA) - Admin dashboard - Timeline: 6-10 months

Patient Portal

CAD $50,000 - $150,000 - Appointment booking - Health record access - Prescription renewal - Secure messaging - Patient education - EMR integration - Bilingual support (optional) - Timeline: 4-6 months

Hospital Information System

CAD $500,000 - $2,000,000+ - Enterprise-wide HIS - Multiple departments and specialties - Provincial integration - HL7 FHIR/v2.x interfaces - Advanced clinical workflows - Analytics and reporting - Multi-year implementation - Timeline: 12-36+ months

HL7 Integration (Per Interface)

CAD $15,000 - $50,000 - HL7 FHIR or v2.x - Single integration (lab, imaging, EMR, etc.) - Testing and validation - Documentation - Ongoing support (optional) - Timeline: 6-12 weeks

Ongoing Support & Maintenance

CAD $2,000 - $20,000+/month - Technical support and help desk - System monitoring - Security updates - Compliance maintenance - Feature enhancements - Pricing based on system complexity and user count