JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 BCBUSINESS 59
When Vancouver corporate flagship
Telus bought Montreal-based
Emergis in 2007, the latter's elec-
tronic medical records (
EMR) business
presented an intriguing growth
proposition: a platform to spearhead
the digitization of patient files across
Canada. Telus Health is now the
country's leading
EMR provider, with
1,800 employees and relationships
with 94,000 practitioners.
■ SAY "AHA!"
If the medical profession has been
slow to adopt virtual care,
COVID-19
provided the push its proponents
needed. Kelowna-based
QHR Tech-
nologies, acquired by Loblaws in
2016 for $170 million, runs Canada's
largest single
EMR platform, Accuro
EMR. Next, through a partnership
with federally funded nonprofit
Canada's Health Infoway, Accuro
EMR will incorporate e-prescriptions
across its parent company's Shoppers
Drug Mart network.
■ GONE VIRAL
With its 2019 purchase of Kai In-
novations, Vancouver-headquartered
Well Health Technologies
moved up to No. 3 among Canadian
EMR providers, complemented by
20 bricks-and-mortar clinics and
a telehealth division. Likewise,
Vancouver's CloudMD combines an
EMR platform used by 376 clinics and
almost 3 million registered patients
with its own clinics, scheduling
and billing software, and an online
patient portal.
•
HEALTHY
RETURNS
COVID-19 may mark a
tipping point for virtual care
by Michael McCullough
ON T R E N D
