{"id":461537,"date":"2026-06-05T01:30:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T01:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/461537\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T01:30:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T01:30:14","slug":"100-million-awarded-to-health-data-platform-founded-by-st-michaels-hospital-physicians-in-canadas-new-ai-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/461537\/","title":{"rendered":"$100-million awarded to health data platform founded by St. Michael\u2019s Hospital physicians in Canada\u2019s new AI strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Drs. Fahad Razak and Amol Verma<\/p>\n

A national health data platform founded by two St. Michael\u2019s Hospital physicians is part of Canada\u2019s new federal AI Strategy<\/a> announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The health data platform \u2013 called VITAL \u2013 will receive $100-million in federal funding to expand the Ontario-based platform across the country<\/a> as part of the government\u2019s highly anticipated strategy described as \u2018AI for All.\u201d That builds on previously awarded funding from federal, provincial and institutional sources that totaled $110 million, bringing the project\u2019s full funding to over $210 million, a landmark investment in health data innovation for Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cVITAL positions Canada as a global leader in the life sciences sector and an ideal place to develop, validate and launch game changing health AI tools that could save lives and make the health care system more efficient,\u201d said VITAL co-lead, Fahad Razak, internist at St Michael\u2019s Hospital and Canada Research Chair in Healthcare Data and Analytics at the University of Toronto.<\/p>\n

VITAL \u2013 based at St. Michael\u2019s, a site of Unity Health Toronto \u2013 will deliver near real-time health data from hospitals in provinces across Canada, beginning with 160 hospitals in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. That will make it one of the most valuable health data resources in the world. The platform breaks down the silos of our current system and allows scientists and innovators to harness Canada\u2019s rich pool of health data to develop scalable AI tools, expand Canada\u2019s capabilities for research and clinical trials, and provide important insights to fortify the Canadian health care system. The platform will have strong privacy and security protections and careful ethical oversight on the uses of health data.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe platform will help safeguard national data sovereignty by ensuring the population\u2019s health data is owned and governed by Canadians, for the benefit of Canadians,\u201d added Amol Verma, co-lead of VITAL, internist at St. Michael\u2019s Hospital, and the\u00a0Temerty\u00a0Professor of AI Research and Education in Medicine at the University of Toronto.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Enjoying this story?\u00a0Sign up for the Unity Health Toronto newsletter<\/a>, a monthly update on the latest news, stories, patient voices and research emailed directly to subscribers.<\/p>\n

How it works: National infrastructure and collaboration<\/p>\n

VITAL will connect data across provinces, using advances in technology that allow data to be analyzed even when they are stored in different environments. This allows data to stay within the authority of each participating province, and VITAL provides the essential connections so that data can be analyzed together. That means researchers and innovators can access data across Canada, making their discoveries more useful to more people. Each jurisdiction will maintain control over its health data with the platform providing connections across provincial and territorial data hubs (see sidebar<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The platform is a collaborative initiative built in alignment with partners in each province and Canada\u2019s national digital infrastructure, including working with the Digital Research Alliance of Canada<\/a>, the National AI Institutes<\/a> and the Canadian Institute for Health Information<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Empowering Canadian health breakthroughs<\/p>\n

VITAL\u2019s data is particularly valuable for AI development and evaluation because of Canada\u2019s diverse population, high-quality healthcare and inclusive single-payer system. This places Canada in a unique and highly advantageous position to develop AI tools that can perform effectively both at home and abroad.<\/p>\n

The platform\u2019s network of hospitals will create \u2018living laboratories\u2019 at scale, so AI technologies can be developed, implemented and evaluated in real-world settings \u2013 necessary steps on the path to adoption and commercialization.<\/p>\n

On the research side, most Canadian hospitals don\u2019t have the systems in place to recruit patients and run clinical trials. For example, fewer than 5 per cent of cancer patients are enrolled in clinical trials, even though surveys show that 70 per cent would like to\u00a0participate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

VITAL will provide the infrastructure for clinical trial recruitment and data collection at participating hospitals, including in\u00a0pediatrics, where trials are less common. This will help to address geographic and age-based inequities in access to trials and position Canada as a world-class location for clinical trial investment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It will also support real-world studies looking at dynamic health system issues, such as\u00a0optimizing\u00a0critical care and trauma capacity and infectious outbreak surveillance, to improve healthcare delivery and enhance Canada\u2019s security.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unity Health Toronto, home of cutting-edge health AI\u00a0<\/p>\n

VITAL is based at St. Michael\u2019s, a top ten Canadian research hospital known for its\u00a0cutting-edge\u00a0work in health AI. One of the first hospital AI development teams in Canada was\u00a0established there in\u00a02016 with a transformational investment from the Li Ka Shing (Canada) Foundation. It has since built Canada\u2019s leading hospital-based AI program, creating and implementing tools across care, operations and research.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur position as a world-leader in health AI\u00a0makes\u00a0us a natural home for the VITAL initiative,\u201d says Damian Jankowicz, EVP and chief information and AI officer at Unity Health. \u201cWe have the experience and expertise to build VITAL with our partners across Canada and create AI and analytics tools that will benefit people and health care providers nationwide.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unity Health has a longstanding history of providing care for equity-deserving communities and advancing health equity<\/a> through research and targeted solutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnity Health\u2019s values are reflected in VITAL\u2019s goals of gathering health data from across Canada \u2013 including rural and remote areas that are often overlooked,\u201d says Altaf Stationwala, president and CEO of Unity Health. \u201cInclusive data leads to more equitable solutions, and we\u2019re proud to be at the forefront of this initiative which will strengthen Canada\u2019s ability to lead the world in health care innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n

An innovative, Indigenous-led health information platform<\/p>\n

An Indigenous-governed health information platform, developed in partnership with the Indigenous Primary Health Care Council<\/a> and Seventh Generation Midwives Toronto<\/a>\u00a0 will enable the secure linkage of Indigenous Primary Health Care Organizations (IPHCOs) and VITAL\u2019s hospital data while maintaining Indigenous governance and stewardship over Indigenous health information.\u00a0 This unique IPHCO-governed Indigenous health data platform will provide otherwise unavailable health service information for First Nations, Inuit and Metis (FNIM) peoples across geographies. This Indigenous stream of VITAL is co-led by the world-class Indigenous health information researchers at the Well Living House<\/a>, an action research centre directed by Metis physician Janet Smylie, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Advancing Generative Health Services for Indigenous Populations in Canada.<\/p>\n

According to the Canadian Census, rights holding FNIM peoples comprise 5 per cent of the total population in Canada, although this is widely considered<\/a> to be an underestimate<\/a>. Currently, there are major gaps in the availability of accurate, valid and inclusive FNIM health service use and performance measures \u2013 measures that most Canadians take for granted. This IPCHO VITAL data platform will build the infrastructure to address these gaps and ensure First Peoples have first-class information regarding the frequency and quality of their hospital care. It will also enable Indigenous researchers to conduct research studies most relevant to their communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor too long, Indigenous peoples have been excluded from the health information systems that shape health policy, planning and investment decisions,\u201d said Caroline Lidstone-Jones, CEO of the Indigenous Primary Health Care Council. \u201cThis Indigenous-governed platform will help close those gaps while advancing Indigenous data sovereignty and ensuring that health information is used in ways that directly benefit First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Becoming Canada-wide<\/p>\n

Additional\u00a0provinces and territories \u2014 including British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island \u2014 have already expressed interest in and readiness to join VITAL. VITAL is seeking opportunities to expand the network across all provinces and territories to make it truly Canada-wide.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the next five years, VITAL will focus on completing the infrastructure build and establishing a central platform for researchers to access Canadian health data more easily. VITAL is establishing strong ethical oversight and privacy protection that allows responsible partnerships with the private sector, to enhance Canadians\u2019 access to new innovative health technologies through research and to attract greater investment and economic development in Canada.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Built on established data platforms<\/p>\n

VITAL is built on established hospital data platforms in the initial three provinces that joined the platform:<\/p>\n

Ontario:\u00a0VITAL will build upon clinical data and analytics infrastructure called GEMINI<\/a>, also led by Drs. Razak and Verma and based at Unity Health Toronto. GEMINI is Canada\u2019s largest multi-institutional hospital data sharing network, collecting data from more than 40 hospitals that care for over 60 per cent of hospital patients in the province. It was founded in 2014 with significant support from the Governments of Ontario and Canada. Today it is an invaluable resource for quality improvement and research across Canada, contributing to more than 190 research studies. The initiative was also supported by donors including Birch Hill Equity Partners; Scotiabank through its community investment program, ScotiaRISE; and Bernie Syron.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alberta:\u00a0VITAL will\u00a0leverage\u00a0the rich, linked datasets housed by Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services, including Connect Care,\u00a0the provincial electronic medical record for all hospitals, in partnership with leading scientists at the University of Alberta and University of Calgary.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Quebec:\u00a0VITAL will\u00a0leverage\u00a0a research network coordinated by the Centre Hospitalier de\u00a0l\u2019Universit\u00e9\u00a0de Montr\u00e9al, as well as McGill University and Universit\u00e9 Laval, which has previously been used for research involving real-time EMR data in eight Quebec hospitals.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Voir la version fran\u00e7aise.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Drs. Fahad Razak and Amol Verma A national health data platform founded by two St. Michael\u2019s Hospital physicians…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461538,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[134,527,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-461537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}