As the family doctor and nursing shortage gets worse, here is an innovative solution that will help

Posted on September 25, 2025 in Health Delivery System

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TheStar.com – Opinion
Sept. 25, 2025.   By Iris Gorfinkel, Contributor

Ontario is contending with a severe shortage of registered nurses and family physicians. This strain could be eased by making better use of a tool already in the hands of 93 per cent of family physicians: the electronic health record. Properly designed, it could become a proactive member of the care team — informing patients what’s due, connecting them to services and closing dangerous gaps before they become crises.

Right now, Ontario’s electronic health records function more like dusty filing cabinets than active members of the care team. They’re mostly passive storehouses for lab results, vaccines and cancer screenings. The province’s use of electronic health records remains far behind its potential.

Imagine logging in from home and seeing — in plain language — which blood tests, cancer screenings and vaccines are due. Picture booking an appointment online with a nearby public health unit or pharmacy, or directly obtaining your cancer screening test from Cancer Care Ontario. Automated reminders could prompt timely follow‑up and each task handled by the electronic records would free up another appointment for a family doctor. For a parent juggling work and family, that kind of access could mean the difference between catching cancer early and facing it too late.

A modernized records system will never replace human care — but it will give family physicians more time to do what we do best: diagnose and manage acute illnesses, guide patients through complex chronic conditions and provide the nuanced, relationship‑based care. These services can’t be mechanized but they are falling by the wayside because family doctors are inundated with repetitive tasks better handled by an updated electronic records systems.

Digitized tools should be viewed as an indispensable part of the health-care team, taking on routine, preventive tasks to allow clinicians the time needed to focus on complex care. They could allow patients to bypass bottlenecks, get screened for cancer sooner and book more timely vaccines. Virtual triage could help direct non‑urgent cases to pharmacists, nurse practitioners, or community programs.

It’s a triple win for patients, family doctors and the health systems they serve, but this is not yet a core part of Ontario’s strategy.

Instead, Ontario’s Primary Action Plan has earmarked $2.1 billion to connect patients to primary care teams. Well intentioned as this is, it’s a pipe dream without the doctors and nurses to deliver on it. Ontario is short 3,500 family physicians but is adding only 200 per year. Worse, 2-in-5 family doctors are nearing retirement and fewer new grads choose comprehensive family practice.

The nursing shortage is even more daunting: Ontario is short about 26,000 nurses, with only a few thousand entering the workforce annually across all categories — far below what’s needed to close the gap. Ontario will not be able to hire its way out of the current crisis.

The plan also fails to fully harness the power of electronic health records. Health record vendors need to be financially incentivized — not mandated — to create systems that deliver on outcomes.

Ontarians were granted the legal right to their primary care records by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1993 , yet it has rung hollow for most patients for over three decades. Updated health records would make this a reality while educating, automating and accelerating the delivery of health services. Future updates could even offer it in the language of a patient’s choice.

A fully integrated, province‑wide, patient‑accessible electronic health record system should no longer be viewed as a luxury, but an essential part of the solution to Ontario’s existing crisis. Health-care shortages could kick‑start a revolution in patient care and give patients real‑time access to the medical services they need and the ability to arrange them with a few clicks. It would free family doctors to do the work only we can do.

No Ontarian should have to risk missing a cancer diagnosis, waiting months for a vaccine or spending hours in an ER because the system is stuck in the past. Hiring alone won’t solve this crisis. Innovation will — and the tools are already in our hands.

Iris Gorfinkel is a family physician and clinical researcher in Toronto.

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/as-the-family-doctor-and-nursing-shortage-gets-worse-here-is-an-innovative-solution-that/article_080b7441-51b0-4e14-a1b1-389097e0a214.html?source=newsletter&utm_content=a06&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=email&utm_email=0C810E7AE4E7C3CEB3816076F6F9881B&utm_campaign=top_21959

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