Canada Health Infoway Releases Results of National AI Scribe Program, Demonstrating Meaningful Benefits for Primary Care Clinicians
TORONTO, June 23, 2026 /CNW/ - Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) today released the six-month results of its national AI Scribe Program, showing that AI-powered clinical documentation tools can deliver meaningful benefits for primary care clinicians, including reduced administrative burden, lower cognitive load, and more timely documentation and greater capacity to focus on patient care.
Developed and delivered by Infoway in partnership with provinces and territories, the AI Scribe Program provided fully funded, one-year licenses for pre-qualified AI scribe tools to eligible primary care clinicians across Canada. The program was designed to support responsible AI adoption at scale by combining national vendor prequalification, jurisdictional implementation pathways, clinician choice, license allocation and active-use monitoring, and real-world evaluation.
The six-month program results come from an independent evaluation conducted by the Centre for Digital Health Evaluation (CDHE) at the Women's College Hospital Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care (WIHV). The evaluation included 12,019 primary care clinicians enrolled in Infoway's AI Scribe Program across Canada between June 2025 and February 2026, making it the largest national implementation and evaluation of AI scribes in primary care conducted globally.
Reducing Burden and Supporting Better Workflows
The evaluation found strong, consistent benefits across a range of clinical and operational outcomes. Among clinicians who responded to the surveys, nearly 70 per cent reported reduced administrative burden, and almost 80 per cent reported lower cognitive load. After six months of use, clinicians reported saving an average of 1.11 hours per week during work hours and nearly one hour per week afterhours, with gains appearing as early as three months.
The evaluation also found improvements in documentation timeliness. Same-day note completion increased from 55.9 per cent at baseline to nearly 75 per cent by six months, while delayed documentation dropped from 9.8 per cent to under 3 per cent.
Beyond efficiency, the evaluation found improvements in documentation quality and clinician engagement with patients. In a subset of Ontario practices, overall documentation completeness increased from 92.9 per cent to 95.5 per cent, supported by a retrospective chart review of clinical notes. More than 80 per cent of clinicians reported feeling more engaged during patient visits, and 60 per cent perceived improvements in the quality of care they provided.
Adoption also increased rapidly over the evaluation period. Monthly AI-assisted encounters grew nearly fivefold, from over 244,000 in June 2025 to more than 1.22 million by February 2026. By February 2026, the program also had over 7,400 active primary care clinician users, defined as clinicians using an AI scribe 10 or more times per month. More than 90 per cent of clinicians agreed that AI scribes added value to their clinical practice.
"The AI Scribe Program shows what is possible when innovation is connected to a clear clinical need and supported at national scale. Across the country, primary care clinicians are using these tools to reduce documentation burden, reclaim time and focus more fully on their patients. For Infoway, this program is about more than introducing a new technology. It is about creating the conditions for responsible AI adoption by facilitating effective public-private sector collaboration, aligning innovation with health system priorities, and bringing forward trusted, real-world solutions. These results give us a strong foundation for the next phase of AI-enabled care in Canada."
-- Abhi Kalra, Interim President and CEO, Canada Health Infoway
"Until now, the field has lacked evidence on what AI scribes actually do in everyday primary care practice at scale. This evaluation fills that gap. The findings confirm these tools are reducing burden and improving the clinician experience in a range of ways, and they point us toward the next important milestones on implementation, and long-term sustainability."
-- Dr. Onil Bhattacharyya, Director, Women's College Hospital Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care (WIHV)
Building the Next Phase of Responsible AI in Health Care
The evaluation provides a strong evidence base for the next phase of AI-enabled documentation in primary care. It also reinforces the approach Infoway is taking to AI in healthcare, which begins by addressing practical clinical challenges and focusing on responsible adoption, real-world evidence, and tools that strengthen the quality, usability and flow of health information.
As AI continues to evolve in clinical settings, the findings from the AI Scribe Program offer important lessons for how these tools can be assessed, implemented and improved in practice. Through the evaluation, clinicians identified opportunities for the next generation of AI-enabled tools to better support day-to-day workflows, including referral drafting, inbox management, and clinical decision support. They also identified the need for flexible funding models to support equitable access across practice settings.
These findings will help inform continued work with jurisdictions, vendors and health system partners to advance AI-enabled tools that are safe, interoperable and responsive to clinical needs. They also point to the importance of national standards, strong governance and ongoing evaluation as Canada builds a trusted foundation for AI in healthcare.
Infoway remains committed to working with governments, jurisdictions, clinicians, vendors and health system partners to advance responsible AI adoption that supports clinicians, strengthens health data foundations and improves care for Canadians.
To read the full evaluation report, visit here.
About Canada Health Infoway
At Canada Health Infoway (Infoway), we believe a more connected health system is a healthier, more sustainable one. As Canada's digital health agency, Infoway works in partnership with governments, Indigenous partners and communities, healthcare organizations, clinicians, industry, and patients to advance Connected Care and improve health outcomes and experiences for people across Canada. By strengthening health data exchange, advancing national standards, and supporting the responsible adoption of digital health innovations, we are helping ensure that the right information is available to the right people at the right time. This enables better care coordination, reduces administrative burden for clinicians, empowers patients with access to their health information, and supports a more modern, efficient, and patient-centred health system.
Infoway is an independent, not-for-profit organization funded by the Government of Canada and accountable to its Board of Directors and Members of the Corporation, Canada's 14 federal, provincial and territorial deputy ministers of health. Working collaboratively across jurisdictions and with health system partners, Infoway acts as a national convener and catalyst to accelerate the adoption of shared standards, trusted digital infrastructure, and innovative solutions that strengthen care delivery and system performance across the country.
Visit us online at www.infoway-inforoute.ca.
About the Women's College Hospital Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care
The Women's College Hospital Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care (WIHV) brings together a multidisciplinary research team that conduct timely and high-quality evaluations of digital health technologies that inform policy decisions and help shape the health system of tomorrow. WIHV works closely with community partners, clinicians and policymakers to evaluate programs, inform funding decisions and map system needs using a learning health system framework.
Learn more: womensacademics.ca/wihv/ | cdhe.wchwihv.ca
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Canada Health Infoway
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SOURCE Canada Health Infoway
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