Province opens bidding to build a single primary care medical record system

What’s happening now

• The province has launched a competitive procurement (Vendor of Record) led by Supply Ontario for a provincewide Primary Care Medical Record system. Interested vendors can respond through the Ontario Tenders Portal.

Who this affects

• Primary care clinicians (family physicians, nurse practitioners and primary care teams) and their patients across Ontario.

By the numbers from the release

• The system is part of Ontario’s $3.4 billion Primary Care Action Plan.
• About 90% of Ontario family physicians already use electronic medical records, but current systems are fragmented.
• Since the plan launched, the province has attached over 400,000 people to primary care (exceeding a first-year target of 300,000).
• A 2026–27 call will fund 124 new or expanded primary care teams expected to connect another 500,000 patients.
• Since 2018 the province reports adding over 20,000 physicians, including a 14%+ increase in family doctors.

Why it matters

• A single, provincewide record is intended to reduce duplicate tests and paperwork, stop fees for record transfers, and give authorized clinicians faster access to a more complete patient history with appropriate consent.
• The Ministry says the system will improve care coordination and reduce administrative burden for primary care clinicians.

Implementation partners and next steps

• The ministry is working with OntarioMD on certification and EMR implementation.
• The procurement is open now; vendors should use the Ontario Tenders Portal to bid.

How patients find primary care

• People who need a family doctor or nurse practitioner can register with Health Care Connect at ontario.ca/healthcareconnect or call 811.