Thursday, March 19, 2026
Ontario Creating New Provincewide Primary Care Medical Record System
Province increasing Primary Care Action Plan funding to $3.4 billion, on track to exceed 2025-26 attachment target
The Ontario government is taking the next steps to deliver its Primary Care Action Plan, which is on track to connect everyone in the province to a family doctor or primary care provider by 2029. As part of its plan, Ontario is advancing a new provincewide Primary Care Medical Record system that will integrate patient records, reduce paperwork for doctors and improve the quality of care received by patients. Through the 2026 Budget, the province is also increasing overall funding for the plan to a total of $3.4 billion between 2025 and 2029.
“Through our Primary Care Action Plan, we are connecting more people to care and have already exceeded our 2025-26 attachment target,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “By launching a provincewide Primary Care Medical Record system, we are making care more connected and convenient so patients don’t have to repeat their medical history and clinicians can focus on providing excellent patient care, instead of unnecessary paperwork.”
The province also announced today that it has exceeded its 2025-2026 attachment goal under the Primary Care Action Plan, which was to connect 300,000 patients to a primary care provider by March 31, 2026. As of January 1, 2026, the province has already attached 330,000 people to care in 2025-2026, surpassing its goal by more than 30,000 with three months still to go.
Finally, the province announced that 124 successful applicants have been selected to launch a new or expanded primary care team as part of the latest call for proposals under the Primary Care Action Plan. These teams are expected to connect another 500,000 patients to primary care across Ontario, with successful applicants to be announced in the coming weeks. Each team established a plan to attach a high proportion of unattached people in their community, including those on the Health Care Connect waitlist.
“Building a modern, connected primary care system is essential to improving the health of Ontarians,” said Dr. Jane Philpott, Chair of the Primary Care Action Team. “We are adding clinical capacity with more funding for team-based care. Now we are adding the Primary Care Medical Record system which will give clinicians the tools they need to deliver more coordinated, patient centred care, while reducing administrative burden and improving outcomes.”
Electronic medical records are secure digital versions of patients’ medical charts that allow primary care clinicians to capture and access medical histories, diagnoses, medications, test results and more. While approximately 90 per cent of Ontario family physicians use electronic medical records, the current system is fragmented, disconnected and unable to support effective information sharing. This means that when patients move between health-care providers, they are often forced to repeat their health history to different clinicians and pay fees that can range into the hundreds of dollars to transfer their files or undergo costly and unnecessary repeat medical testing.
The proposed provincewide Primary Care Medical Record system will be an interoperable, secure system, accessible from across Ontario that will provide clinicians with a more complete view of a patient’s health history, improving coordination across the health system while reducing delays caused by missing records. For patients, this means more seamless care and hundreds of dollars in savings on fees required to transfer medical records between doctors, as well as improved medical record security. The new system will allow clinicians to quickly and securely access patients’ medical history (with patient consent), so they can have rapid access to the information they need to provide the best possible care. Family physicians will be able to choose to transition to the new system and the government is exploring options to support related costs of family physicians who choose to take part.
To support the rollout of this system, the province will begin an open competitive procurement process to establish a Vendor of Record arrangement. The market sounding announcement is available today via the Ontario Tenders Portal. The Ministry of Health is partnering with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board on this initiative, recognizing that access to a regular primary care provider plays a crucial role in keeping workers healthy and helping injured workers get back on the job faster.
“When injured workers cannot access care quickly, it can delay recovery, create stress for families and keep people out of the workforce longer than necessary,” said David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. “That is why our government is supporting smarter, more connected care and helping workers access timely care, reducing delays, and supporting a safe return to work.”
Through Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario government continues to take bold and decisive action to grow the province’s highly skilled health-care workforce and ensure people and their families have access to high-quality care, closer to home, for generations to come.
“Our government will continue to support a health-care system that is comprehensive, convenient and connected for every single person in Ontario to close the gap for people in need of primary care,” said Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance. “This is how we protect Ontario today, while building the province efficiently and sustainably for future generations.”
More information about how the government continues to make progress on its plan to protect Ontario, by making Ontario one of the most competitive places to invest and do business in the G7 by building a more competitive, more resilient and more self-reliant economy, will be included in the 2026 Budget, to be released on March 26, 2026.
Quick Facts:
- Interested parties can participate in the market sounding exercise being conducted by Supply Ontario.
- Ontario’s Primary Care Action Team is drawing on best-in-class models of care to implement its action plan, supported by the government’s investment of more than $3.4 billion to connect approximately two million more people to primary care by 2029, which will achieve the government’s goal of connecting everyone in the province to primary care.
- The government is making significant progress on its goal of clearing the Health Care Connect waitlist as of January 1, 2025. As of this week, that waitlist has been reduced by more than 87 per cent as the plan continues to hit its targets and deliver faster access to high-quality care.
- Ontarians looking to find a family doctor or nurse practitioner can register with Health Care Connect or call 811.
- Interprofessional primary care teams connect people to a range of health professionals that work together under one roof, including family physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, registered practical nurses, physician assistants, physiotherapists, social workers, dieticians and pharmacists, helping patients to receive more connected and convenient care.
- Since 2018, Ontario has added nearly 20,000 additional physicians to its health-care workforce, including an over 14 per cent increase in family doctors.
Quotes:
"This investment will enable the Schulich FMTU at Humber River Health, in partnership with Unison Health and Community Services, to expand and continue to deliver high-quality care for the communities of northwest Toronto. We are grateful to the Government of Ontario for its continued support of our hospital and for recognizing the importance of strengthening care for one of the fastest-growing and most diverse communities in the province."
- Barb Collins, President and CEO of Humber River Health
"We know that access to health care can lead to a faster recovery and safe return to work. This is an important step to improve access to care and give everyone the information they need to focus on providing care as early as possible."
- Jeffery Lang President and CEO of the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board
"Today’s announcement is a meaningful step forward for primary care in Ontario. Family physicians have long called for more connected and user-friendly digital systems that reduce unnecessary administrative work and help them focus on patient care. A more integrated approach to patient records can help simplify day-to-day practice and improve how care is coordinated. We look forward to working with the government as this moves forward to ensure the solution is practical, supports real-world practice and sets family physicians and their patients up for success."
- Dr. Jobin Varughese, Ontario College of Family Physicians
"This is an incredible step forward for primary care in Ontario. Expanding access to team-based care and committing to make a provincewide medical record a reality will go a long way in reducing fragmentation and helping clinicians and primary care organizations focus on care, not paperwork. As we move ahead, it will be important to stay anchored in what makes primary care work: relationships, continuity and care that’s rooted in people and communities. AFHTO is committed to working alongside government in a solutions focused way to achieve a connected primary care system for Ontarians."
- Jess Rogers, CEO, Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario
"We welcome today’s announcement and congratulate the government, the Primary Care Action Team and the entire primary care sector on exceeding the goal of attaching more than 300,000 people to primary care—an important milestone that reflects real progress in improving access for Ontarians. We also commend the province’s continued investment in primary care, including investment in 124 successful applicants to launch a new or expanded primary care team as part of the latest round of applications. Alliance members are proud to be working alongside government and system partners to build on this momentum. Together, we remain focused on achieving the shared goal of 100 per cent attachment by 2029, ensuring that everyone in Ontario has access to comprehensive, team-based primary health care, with a strong and ongoing commitment to advancing health equity and improving access for underserved communities."
- Sarah Hobbs, CEO, Alliance for Healthier Communities
"Ontario’s investment in a provincewide Primary Care Medical Record Program and expansion of team-based care is a meaningful step toward reducing administrative burden and improving access for patients. Nurse practitioners play a critical role in connecting patients to primary care, and modernizing systems to cut paperwork will help ensure more time is spent where it matters most — delivering high-quality, timely care in communities across the province."
- Dr. Michelle Acorn, CEO, Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario
"Today’s announcement marks another important step in powering Ontario’s primary care system. Investments in integrated medical records and team-based care are making it easier for people to access timely care. Attaching more Ontarians to a family doctor or a nurse practitioner (NP) is central to our success. To build momentum, we must fasten the growth of NPs and RNs working in primary care and enable them to practise to full scope. A stronger nursing workforce means improved access, enhanced outcomes, more effective, efficient and people-centred care for all Ontarians."
- Dr. Doris Grinspun, CEO, Registered Nurses Association of Ontario
"IPHCC and Indigenous Primary Health Care Organizations welcome Ontario’s efforts to expand access to primary care and modernize health system tools, including medical record integration. We look forward to continued collaboration to ensure these advancements support culturally appropriate, wholistic care for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities."
- Caroline Lidstone-Jones, CEO, Indigenous Primary Health Care Council
"The Ontario Medical Association is pleased to see the province’s investment in an integrated primary care medical record system, which we have long supported. We appreciate the collaboration with government on this initiative and the opportunity for physicians to help inform building the integrated record system to align with clinical workflow. We look forward to continuing this work together."
- Dr. Zainab Abdurrahman, President, Ontario Medical Association
Additional Resources:
Media Contacts:
Ema Popovic
Minister Jones’ Office
ema.popovic@ontario.ca
Media Relations
Communications Branch
media.moh@ontario.ca
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