Authored by Andrea Tait, Senior Vice President of Patient Empowerment and Equity at Orion Health.

Access to timely, equitable, and effective care is a fundamental right, and it has been my life’s work to make this a reality. As the Senior Vice President of Patient Empowerment and Equity at Orion Health, I’m driven by a belief that technology can transform healthcare—bridging gaps, breaking down barriers, and delivering better, more accessible care to all.   

Throughout my career, I’ve been privileged to lead initiatives that touch millions of lives. These include two transformative digital front door (DFD) projects on my home turf in Canada, each helping to reimagine how people connect with their health systems. These projects aim to empower citizens and improve health outcomes by providing a single point of access to information and care through a user-friendly, integrated platform.   

Globally, such initiatives are becoming critical as health systems face mounting challenges like constrained funding, resource shortages, access to care challenges, and poor patient experiences—pressures that demand innovative solutions to ensure sustainable, patient-centred care. Here in Canada, we have achieved remarkable results by leveraging technology to connect people with the care they need, when and where they need it.   

Different starting points, shared success  

In Ontario, the Health811 service covers almost 15 million people. Health811 has transformed a traditional nurse triage call centre using Orion Health’s Digitial Front Door to integrate tools and services into an omni-channel solution. This means Ontarians now have a one-stop, digitally enabled navigation service where they can call, chat or self-care using trusted health advice with an AI-powered symptom checker that can immediately triage them to the most appropriate care.   

In Newfoundland, citizens can access their complete health data via MyHealthNL, which includes a hybrid app. They are now expanding this service to integrate their well-established cancer screening programme, digital correspondence, and other tools to make access to care safer and more efficient.  

Both initiatives have seen encouraging outcomes so far. For instance, with Health811, we’ve found that about 80% of people who use the service are successfully redirected to access care at a more appropriate setting rather than needing to visit a traditional emergency department. Meanwhile, MyHealthNL has achieved a 70% satisfaction rate among users, with one-third of the population registered on the platform in the first six months of being live.  

Five top tips to get you started   

As with any project, these successes did not happen overnight. I’ve been privileged to gain valuable insights into what it takes to implement effective digital front doors, so for health systems looking to embark on a similar journey, here are my five takeaways to consider from the outset.  

  1. Health equity and access must be key components of a digital front door solution’s design to meet people where they are.  
  1. Integrate patients and their care teams wherever possible to maintain continuity of care.  
  1. To make the most impact, take a strategic approach to building an ecosystem of tools that support citizens. If you have existing, already adopted tools, leverage what you have to speed up adoption.   
  1. Omni-channel access to care is crucial, patients and their families want digital and voice options for interacting with triage and care navigation tools.    
  1. Adopting an agile approach is key to delivering immediate benefits – start where you can make the most impact, then improve and expand the solution over time.    

A vision for the future  

Digital front doors aren’t just about technology—they’re about reimagining how care is accessed and delivered. By prioritizing equity, collaboration, integration, optimization, and agility, we can create solutions that truly transform healthcare.  

The success of these projects in Canada has reinforced my belief in the power of technology to make healthcare more accessible and equitable. These lessons are not just for Canada—they offer a guide for health systems worldwide to build a brighter, more inclusive and sustainable future.  

If you’re considering embarking on a digital front door journey, I hope these insights inspire you to start where you can make the most impact and keep listening to the people you serve. Together, we can create a healthcare system that works for everyone.  

Look out for my next article, where I’ll dive deeper into each learning and share examples of how to put them into practice.