The concept of patient-centred care still seems to be a pipe dream for many patients. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it evident that the focus of healthcare often, though unintentional, drifts toward the disease rather than the patient. Despite the many medical innovations that have broadened the value-based care options for almost every disease, patients still have trouble accessing relevant care. Whether it is due to scarcity of medical information, distance from advanced healthcare centers, or high care costs, patients often do not get the right care to effectively treat their diseases. Bridging the gap between patients and advanced care options requires patient-aligned healthcare networks that can seamlessly connect patients with timely and cost-effective medical care. Fulfilling this role for cardiac patients across Canada is the patient-driven, non-profit association, CANet. The company brings together healthcare professionals, patients, academia, government, and not-for-profit organizations to undertake ground-breaking cardiac research and develop powerful digital health tools to improve the care journey of patients. By putting the right tools in the hands of patients at the right time, CANet enables them to manage their complex health conditions. Federally funded in part by Canada’s flagship science and technology program, Networks of Centres of Excellence, CANet...

Dr. Anthony Tang envisions a not-so-distant future where sensors, voice recognition, cloud-computing and data analytics are a routine part of our health care experience. “The grand vision is that we can make a diagnosis, follow a patient’s progress and allow management to occur wherever they are,” said Tang. “This is about empowering patients in their own health care.” As the Scientific Director and CEO of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Network of Canada (CANet) housed at Western University, Tang is focused on innovative solutions to help patients manage complex medical conditions. Collaborating with investigators across the country, CANet is leading the expansion, testing and clinical integration of a digital health platform called VIRTUES (Virtual Integrated Reliable Transformative User-Driven E-health System). VIRTUES delivers efficient, effective and accessible health care, on-demand and tailored to the specific needs of each patient. It provides patients with a patient-owned, cloud-based solution that integrates symptoms, remote monitoring data, and historic health data. VIRTUES outputs the integrated data into personalized recommendations for the management of complex conditions. The platform is a centralized and highly versatile digital health solution which can accommodate a variety of complex conditions and patient populations. Importantly, VIRTUES is not a telehealth tool or app; it is a disruptive innovation...