Canada’s Can Health Network is providing national access to Verto’s digital-twin technology to help manage ambulatory patient flow, streamline consent management, and transform patient experience across dozens of ambulatory clinics.

After a commercialisation project funded by the Coordinated Accessible Network (Can) Health Network, Unity Health Toronto is implementing technology from Toronto-based digital health company Verto.

The digital-twin orchestration technology connects relevant pieces of information about patients across any IT system to build complex, dynamic profiles of each individual. The profile is then used to craft personalised care journeys, automating and orchestrating better experiences for individuals throughout their care.

“We are proud to transform Unity Health’s patient experience,” said Michael Millar, CEO of Verto. “Being powered by Verto means we put control back in our clients’ hands to innovate around challenges of legacy systems and workflows. In collaboration with Can Health Network and Unity Health, we continue to build on our success with global consent management, vaccinationsand outpatient clinic engagement, and are excited to accelerate our efforts to reach all of Canada.”

Unity Health began working with Verto in 2018 to co-design technology to improve patient experience and clinic flow across the organisation. Last year, the organisation realised the need to find novel ways to coordinate and engage with patients before, during, after and in-between hospital visits.

“We were seeking a tool to support care pathway management and enhance the patient experience,” said Frank Garcea, executive director at Unity Health Toronto. “A digital twin, like the one developed by Verto, allows us to do this, making sure that patients receive key information and engagement at appropriate times in their care pathway, while providing them with tools to better manage their clinic visits and interactions. The technology also supports the dissemination of digital surveys, which allow us to capture the patient experience in near real time and then support immediate improvements to their experience.”

In 2020, Unity Health joined the Can Health Network and launched a commercialisation project with Verto to develop and implement a global consent model with a focus on digital communications. Can Health Network’s goal is to support the Canadian economy by identifying and introducing Canadian-made technology in the healthcare market.

Through commercialisation projects such as the one launched by Unity Health, companies such as Verto get access to real-world environments, work closely with clinicians to validate their technology, and benefit from the network’s procurement process.

On project completion, Unity Health launched a formal and competitive procurement process, ultimately selecting Verto. As part of Unity Health’s contract with Verto, all listed Can Health Network members were given access to the technology without having to launch their own procurement process. This includes 27 healthcare organisations across Canada, comprising of health authorities and long-term care homes.

“This is what the network is all about – validating Canadian technology and making it easier for healthcare organisations to procure,” said Dante Morra, chair of Can Health Network. “Through leading-edge companies like Verto, we have the ability to solve our own problems with solutions made right here at home, benefitting all Canadians.”

Verto’s patented machine-learning technology consolidates data from nearly any technology or database to create normalised, contextual snapshots – digital twins – of each patient’s healthcare journey. Verto then automates actions across different systems while securely managing consent, data and communication. Its team consists of health informaticians, technologists and clinicians.

Unity Health Toronto is comprised of St Joseph’s Health Centre, St Michael’s Hospital and Providence Healthcare. Its health network serves patients, residents and clients across the full spectrum of care, spanning primary care, secondary community care, tertiary and quaternary care services to post-acute through rehabilitation, palliative care and long-term care.

The Can Health Network is a Canada-first approach to technology adoption. It helps break down barriers to scaling in the healthcare system and provides an environment for companies to scale. It was recently awarded $30m by the government of Canada as part of Budget 2022.

“Verto is another example of a fantastic Canadian company that has taken advantage of the Can Health Network to help Canadians and improve patient experience,” said Mary Ng, Canada’s minister of international trade. “It’s why we invested $30m in the Can Health Network in Budget 2022, to provide Canadian companies across the country even more access to a large, domestic marketplace where companies can scale up and be anchored in Canada.”