Digital Health Strategy

When people can securely access their health information, they become more engaged in their care. Digital health tools empower individuals to track progress, connect with providers, and make informed decisions. Access to records (such as lab results or vaccine history) along with features (such as reminders, appointment booking, and virtual visits) will support healthier habits and better outcomes. By integrating digital health tools into daily life, health information becomes a resource people use regularly, not just when they’re sick. This connected, insight-driven approach helps create a more supportive and proactive health-care experience.

What we will do:

• Expand our digital front door with secure, user-friendly tools that help individuals, families, and guardians access health records, book appointments, and connect with care teams.
• Integrate virtual care and remote monitoring services to improve access and continuity of care.
• Ensure digital health tools are inclusive and accessible for people of all ages and abilities.
• Provide easy-to-use tools and resources to help people understand and confidently use digital health services, empowering them to take charge of their health.
• Leverage patient insights to build trust, support informed decision-making, and ensure transparency in how digital health services are designed and delivered.

Health-care providers are the backbone of New Brunswick’s health system. To support them, we’re focused on replacing outdated, manual processes with modern, easy-to-use digital tools. This means improving how information is shared, streamlining clinical workflows, and ensuring providers have timely access to the patient information they need, whenever and wherever they need it. By reducing paperwork and simplifying day-to-day tasks, providers will spend more time with patients and less time navigating systems. A digitally empowered health workforce is equipped to deliver connected care with confidence, leading to better care for patients and a more rewarding work experience for providers.

What we will do:

• Implement a modernized Electronic Medical Record (EMR) that connects providers, delivers real-time health information, and ensures continuity of care throughout the patient journey.
• Deploy tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to assist with clinical documentation and reduce the administrative burden on health-care professionals, helping to prevent burnout.
• Make it easier for providers to deliver care by simplifying workflows and reducing paperwork. These improvements will help clinicians spend more time with patients and less on administrative tasks.
• Provide targeted training and ongoing support to help health-care professionals confidently use digital tools in their daily work.

Timely access to health information is a cornerstone of New Brunswick’s health transformation. It ensures that patients and providers can access the information they need — when they need it — for coordinated, timely, and personalized care.

In New Brunswick, health information is often stored in separate systems that do not easily share data. This fragmentation makes it harder for health-care providers to get a full picture of a person’s health, leading to delays, duplication, and gaps in care. By building a fully integrated digital health ecosystem, we will enable seamless, secure information flow across hospitals, clinics, and community care settings—empowering patients and improving provider decision-making.

What we will do:

• Implement a modern, provincially integrated clinical information solution to unify health records across acute, ambulatory, and emergency care. This will streamline provider access to clinical data, reduce duplication, and improve care coordination — enabling faster, safer, and more personalized care.
• Enable health records to follow individuals across their care journey, supporting better clinical decisions and enhancing the patient and provider experience.
• Enable secure, real-time messaging and data-sharing so care teams can safely exchange information and make faster, more informed decisions.
• Improve efficiency and strengthen coordination across the health system by improving how organizations share information and work together.
• Align with pan-Canadian standards and interoperability efforts to contribute to the national vision for connected care and ensure New Brunswick’s systems are future-ready.
• Expand access to personal health information through platforms like MyHealthNB, enabling individuals to actively participate in their care.

Unlocking the power of data is key to building a smarter, more responsive health-care system in New Brunswick. Today, disconnected systems and siloed information make it harder for providers to deliver timely, coordinated care. By using advanced analytics and AI, we can bring data together, uncover important patterns, and reduce time spent on manual tasks. This means faster decisions, earlier interventions, and an agile system that can act before problems grow—leading to better outcomes for patients and more efficient care.

What we will do:

• Adopt a data-first approach to modernize care delivery, improve system responsiveness, and enable proactive, evidence-based decisions at every level of the health system.
• Integrate health data with smart tools to break down silos, improve accuracy, and make information more accessible for care, planning, and research.
• Leverage real-time advanced analytics and AI to detect health issues early, support people in achieving optimal health, and deliver personalized care tailored to unique needs.
• Adopt innovative technologies and optimize data use to help providers make faster, more informed clinical decisions.
• Ensure ethical and transparent data use with robust privacy protections and clear governance, guided by the values and needs of people and communities.

A strong digital foundation is essential for building a modern, secure, and efficient health-care system. By upgrading outdated systems, adopting more agile ways of working, and managing data responsibly, we can create a health-care system that is flexible, resilient, and ready to meet the changing needs of patients and providers across New Brunswick. This also means ensuring that digital health tools reflect real-world care experiences and are inclusive, accessible, and equitable, so no one is left behind.

What we will do:

• Modernize foundational digital technologies to support scalable, high-performing health services and enable real-time data sharing for care delivery, reporting, and analytics.
• Invest in interoperable, future-ready systems that replace outdated tools and ensure health information moves securely and efficiently across the continuum of care.
• Enhance data management and cybersecurity through digital governance, robust identity management, and strong privacy protections to ensure a secure and trustworthy digital health environment.
• Co-design digital tools with human-centred approaches to ensure solutions reflect diverse needs and real-world care experiences.
• Design digital solutions that are scalable, accessible, and capable of evolving with the health system’s changing needs.
• Work with interest holders, partners, academic and research institutions to strengthen digital career pathways and support advanced roles such as health informatics experts and AI specialists.