Releases of the PS-CA Implementation Guide may be found on a table on the Home Page of this Project.

Overview

Pan-Canadian Patient Summary (PS-CA)

The Pan-Canadian Patient Summary (PS-CA) is an adaptation of the International Patient Summary, which defines the patient summary as a standardized set of basic clinical data, which includes the most important health and care related information about the patient, such as medications they are taking, any allergies or intolerances they have and their key medical issues. This summarized version of a patient’s clinical data provides health professionals the essential information needed at the point of care. It represents a minimal and non-exhaustive set of clinically relevant standardized patient data, which is specialty-agnostic and condition-independent, but readily usable by patients and authorized health care providers.

The PS-CA addresses Canada’s unique healthcare delivery models, ensuring consistent and secure access to patient information within and across provinces and territories. This customization aims to enhance care continuity and accessibility within the Canadian healthcare landscape. Developed in collaboration with jurisdictions and their clinicians, PS-CA outlines the critical high priority data clinicians want, the data standards (data language) all systems need to speak to exchange the data and standardized methods to exchange the data, such as CA:FeX (Canadian FHIR exchange).

The Patient Summary will be instrumental in supporting patients and their health care providers by ensuring that the patient’s most important health care information, such as medications, allergies or intolerances, and key medical issues, is available at the point of care. For example:

  • During unexpected or unscheduled situations, such as emergencies where the health care provider may not have any information about the patient.
  • During transitions of care, such as moving between care settings—whether from a hospital to home or between health care providers.
  • Supporting planned care situations, such as care coordination across multiple providers.

Patient-Summary-Preface-Roadmap

National and International Collaboration

Infoway works closely with Canadian jurisdictions to prioritize data domains (e.g., Medications, Problems, etc.) and define requirements for the PS-CA. This initiative started by incorporating all required IPS data domains, along with selected recommended and optional domains. However, not all IPS data domains currently have profiles ready for implementation.

The IPS maintains a “general roadmap” for updates and new content additions. Infoway actively participates in the global IPS community to ensure ongoing alignment and integration with international standards.

The Joint Initiative Council for Global Health Informatics Standardization (JIC) promotes health informatics standards to enable interoperability across health domains, support efficient and high-quality health service delivery, and facilitate global markets for health information systems. In their recent discussion paper on the IPS, The Future of IPS as a Global Public Good, it is acknowledged that:

“Local adaptation of the IPS suite may at times be necessary, a shared objective is that local variations have minimal impact on technical implementation and global use of the instances of personal health data conforming to the IPS suite.”

Infoway shares this objective and continues to work with global IPS communities to stay aligned and contribute to IPS developments.

There is a growing desire within the community for the IPS to support planned healthcare, such as in cases of citizen movements or cross-organizational care paths. While the IPS has primarily focused on unscheduled, cross-border care, Canada has defined use cases to support transitions and continuity of care across local borders. Other countries are adopting similar approaches.

As the healthcare landscape evolves, Infoway remains committed to advancing the PS-CA and ensuring its adaptability to both local needs and global standards. By continuing to foster national and international collaboration, we are helping to create a future where seamless, patient-centered care is accessible no matter where individuals travel or where they receive care. This collective effort will drive the progress needed to make connected care a global reality.

Key Benefits of the Patient Summary

PS-CA is a stepping-stone towards the future. It allows access to the most critical patient data now, while allowing the room to build out modern, “just in time”, secure and access-controlled ecosystems that respect patient privacy while allowing citizens to participate in the delivery of their own care. Common standards for Patient Summary including the way in which it’s exchanged, can realize multiple benefits to different stakeholders, including the ability for a single longitudinal patient record.

Patients

  • Improved Experience: Efficient and comprehensive data sharing between providers leads to better health outcomes.
  • Access to Information: Patients can access and share their personal health information.

Health Care Funders

  • Cost and Time Reduction: Implementing patient summary and interoperability solutions is more cost-effective and quicker due to reusable data content and technical profiles.
  • Reliable Reporting: Automated reporting helps target health care spending more effectively.

Jurisdictions

  • Reduced Implementation Burden: Centralized expertise and reusable profile components lower resource demands.
  • Simplified Processes: Coordinated approach reduces complexity and resource requirements.
  • Global Standards Alignment: Supports international vendors by eliminating the need for Canada-specific solutions.

Vendors

  • Standardized Components: Reuse of standardized components across jurisdictions reduces variability and implementation time.
  • Scalability and Enhancements: Easier scalability and future enhancements with minimal effort, allowing vendors to incorporate new elements without jurisdictional oversight.

Clinicians/Health Care Providers

  • Enhanced Communication: Improved coordination and transitions of care through better communication between health providers.
  • Improved Provider Experience: More accessible and organized patient information saves time and reduces administrative burden, improving workflow and preventing burnout.
  • Better Data Quality: Consistent records of past tests and results reduce redundant testing and improve patient safety.
  • Support for Virtual Care:: Consistent access to health information across different modalities and solutions.
  • Better Health Outcomes: Consistent access to health information aids decision-making and supports proactive health management, improving patient safety and care effectiveness.

Specification Feedback

FHIR Implementation Guide Focus Areas for Feedback: Implementers are encouraged to provide broad feedback as well as to review the Known Issues & Future Development for technical areas that this specification is specifically targeting feedback on.

How to submit your feedback: A full list of instructions for submitting feedback is available on the PS-CA Release Information. Each release will include details about how to provide feedback. In the PS-CA Releases table, click on the Release Title for which you wish to provide feedback on.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Pan-Canadian Patient Summary (PS-CA) represents a significant advancement in the standardization and accessibility of patient health information across Canada. By adapting the International Patient Summary (IPS) to meet the unique needs of Canada’s healthcare system, the PS-CA ensures that essential health data is consistently available at the point of care, enhancing patient outcomes and care coordination.

Through national and international collaboration, Infoway and its partners are driving the development and implementation of the PS-CA, aligning with global standards while addressing local requirements. This initiative not only supports emergency and transitional care but also facilitates planned care, ensuring that patients receive comprehensive and continuous care regardless of where they are.

The PS-CA’s benefits extend to all stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem, from patients and providers to funders and vendors, by improving data sharing, reducing costs, and enhancing the quality of care. As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, the PS-CA stands as a cornerstone for future innovations, paving the way for a more connected, patient-centered healthcare system.

By fostering ongoing collaboration and leveraging standardized data exchange methods, the PS-CA is poised to play a key role in making connected care a reality, ensuring that patients’ health information is accessible, secure, and actionable whenever and wherever it is needed.