Health systems across Ontario and Canada are facing growing capacity pressures driven by an aging population, rising chronic disease, increased emergency department utilization, and limited access to timely primary and community-based care. These challenges are exacerbated by fragmented care delivery, resulting in poorer patient and provider experiences, avoidable hospitalizations, and system inefficiencies. Across Canada, there is a growing demand for innovative solutions to improve access to care, reduce health inequities, and strengthen the sustainability of health systems. This demand is particularly evident at Trillium Health Partners (THP), where we are committed to shaping the future of health care in one of the fastest-growing and most diverse populations in the country. In response to the growing needs of our community, THP is focused on leveraging digital solutions to create seamless, connected care and to reduce hospitalizations. THP’s vision is to create a new kind of health care for a healthier community (see Plan to 2030), enabling patients to stay healthy at home, avoid preventable hospital admissions, and leave the hospital sooner, while ensuring operational efficiency and value for money within the health care system.
To achieve this vision, THP seeks a partnership with a vendor that possesses deep expertise in digital service delivery. The ideal partner will have a proven track record in advising on best practices and innovative approaches to design and implement integrated personalized digital health services that enhance access to care outside of hospitals in a sustainable, user-centered manner. THP will partner with this vendor to implement and evaluate a digital front door solution which is a single online entry point where patients can easily find information, book appointments, and connect with care. This solution makes accessing the hospital simpler and faster, while giving the hospital better information to plan services and improve care. By enabling patients to receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time, the solution aims to reduce unnecessary hospital use, strengthen community-based care, and improve equity and patient experience.
THP is posting this Call for Innovation to seek out qualified Canadian companies who can meet the following desired criteria and outcomes. THP and CAN Health reserve the right to not move forward with this project at its full discretion and in particular if there are no qualified Canadian companies that can reasonably meet the desired outcomes.
To qualify for a CAN Health project, the company must meet ALL the following criteria:
- Headquartered in Canada (additional criteria apply for companies not headquartered in Canada)
- Majority ownership of both the company and the solution by Canadians
- Solution at Technology Readiness Level (TRL)>7, indicating actual technology completed and qualified through tests and demonstrations
- All the data and AI models (if applicable) must be hosted in Canada and comply with all the Canadian privacy regulations
- Possess all regulatory approvals required for commercialization, such as Health Canada approval
- Completion of all required clinical validity/unity studies
- No need for policy changes to be widely adopted
- Strong use cases in the Canadian health care system
If the company is not headquartered in Canada or the solution is not majority owned by Canadians, additional criteria apply:
- Independent autonomy over business operations and product development (for subsidiaries, affiliates or distributors)
- High Canadian job creation potential, especially in executive and senior management positions
- Commitment of over 70% of contract value to Canada
During the company selection process, preference is given to companies/solutions fully owned by Canadians, followed by those majority owned by Canadians, and finally international companies with a significant presence and economic impact in Canada.
For more information on the Call for Innovation process and the commercialization projects funded by CAN Health Network, please refer to the FAQ page on the CAN Health Network website: https://canhealthnetwork.ca/faq/.
Problem Statement:
Trillium Health Partners (THP) is facing challenges with fragmented care access, long wait times, hallway medicine, rising hospitalizations, and growing capacity pressures. Rising rates of chronic and ambulatory care-sensitive conditions, combined with an aging and diverse population, are further contributing to hospital strain. Existing digital resources are underutilized and do not provide a seamless, user-centred experience. The absence of a centralized, integrated, and AI-enabled access point increases patient and caregiver burden, complicates provider workflows, and limits the ability to proactively manage care, directly impacting patient outcomes, satisfaction, and system efficiency.
Objectives:
Trillium Health Partners is seeking a partnership with a vendor that possesses deep expertise in digital service delivery and a digital front door product already established and deployed in health care, with AI capabilities, preferably in a Canadian context. This initiative intends to reduce administrative burden, support proactive care for chronic and ambulatory care-sensitive populations, enhance patient and provider experience, and enable scalable, AI-enabled care delivery across THP’s catchment area.
This engagement will focus on a quick-start, time-bound phase to develop a working prototype for priority populations, including those in palliative care and individuals with ambulatory care-sensitive conditions, conditions that benefit from community-based and virtual care. These conditions include congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, hypertension, and angina. The solution must be modular and scalable, with the flexibility to expand to additional populations and services as needed.
The solution must:
- Be codesigned with patients, families, clinicians and community
- Be designed as a modular, extensible architecture enabling future features, including AI tools from other vendors, populations and
- Must avoid proprietary lock-in and allow THP to integrate with other vendors or internally built solutions.
- Support for multi-system scaling to benefit broader community, additional populations/pathways and regional partners.
- Be accessible via iOS, Android and
- Leverage mobile capabilities such as image/video capture, geolocation and alerts; augmented reality features may be explored where
- Data storage, transmission and access must follow THP and PHIPA standards, using Canadian-hosted and THP-approved secure
- Integration must support interoperability with THP systems (EHR, virtual care, Trillium’s Operations Centre, biometric device data) and external providers.
- The vendor will provide clear documentation outlining what THP can update/manage independently and what requires vendor support.
Provide an operations and maintenance model covering service levels, support, updates and enhancements.
Essential (mandatory) outcomes:
Primary outcomes of success:
- Enrolment of >1,000 patients from a THP-defined target populations (Palliative and Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions) by the end of Year 1 using the digital application
- Achieving >20% of target population receiving proactive care via the digital application that prevents hospital admissions and/or visits by the end of Year 1
Secondary outcomes of success:
- Cost savings and/or cost avoidance to hospital and/or health system
- Improved health equity
- Improved patient, family and caregiver experience
- Improved patient outcomes
- Improved provider experience
- Positive engagement and usability scores
- Positive qualitative feedback from target population patients and caregivers
- Better care coordination and experience across hospital, community & home
- Improved administrative efficiency
Additional Considerations:
Existing Experience in Health Care Digital Front Door Delivery:
- Trillium Health Partners is looking to partner with a vendor that possesses deep expertise in digital service delivery with a digital front door product already established and deployed in health care, with AI capabilities, preferably in a Canadian context.
Improve Patient Experience and Population Health:
- Increase enrolment and engagement, enabling patients, families, and caregivers to more easily find information, navigate services, book appointments, and access virtual and community-based care; resulting in reduced hospitalizations.
- Achieve high patient satisfaction with the digital front door experience through user feedback surveys and ongoing engagement.
- Collect additional insights from patients and caregivers to inform continuous improvements in care navigation, health outcomes, and overall experience.
Advance Health Equity:
Provide an inclusive experience for patients that advances health equity by expanding access to care, supports system navigation and reduces system barriers for underserved and marginalized populations.
- Support proactive care and early intervention through an accessible platform that lowers barriers for diverse patient populations
- Enable tracking and reporting of equity-related metrics to identify gaps in access, monitor outcomes, and guide targeted interventions for underserved populations.
Improve Provider Experience:
- Reduce administrative burden and streamline workflows for clinicians and care teams by centralizing access to patient information, virtual care services, and community resources.
Monitor provider experience and perceived efficiency improvements via pre/post implementation surveys, including benefits from early risk detection and proactive care alerts.
According to the Health at a Glance 2025 OECD Indicators report, Canadians already experience some of the longest wait times among OECD countries. Further compounding this, Ontario’s Projected Patterns of Illness model confirms an aging population and a higher burden of illness in Mississauga, compared to the rest of the province and that major illness is rising 3.6x the population growth (Projected patterns of illness in Ontario.pdf). Additionally, over the next two decades, THP is expected to face the greatest increase in bed demand of any hospital in Ontario. With the combined pressures of capacity challenges, long wait times, an increasing and aging population, and the rising burden of chronic disease, these challenges will only intensify, despite planned infrastructure investments. Expanding traditional hospital infrastructure alone will not suffice.
To address this, THP is looking for a partner who can leverage their expertise in digital service delivery, customer experience, user-centred design, and AI technology to collaborate with THP, patients, families, caregivers, providers, and community partners. The partnering vendor should have proven experience in driving customer adoption and supporting user uptake and together with THP codesign and build a fully customized, user-friendly and integrated digital front door prototype for priority populations with the intention to scale.
As the largest community hospital system in Ontario, serving one of Canada’s most diverse communities, THP is uniquely positioned to lead the charge in transforming health care delivery. THP can develop innovative solutions that meet the increasing demand for care, improve equity, and set new standards locally and beyond.
