Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) released six-month results from its national AI Scribe Program on June 23, 2026, demonstrating that AI-powered clinical documentation tools significantly reduce administrative burden and cognitive load for primary care clinicians while improving documentation timeliness and patient engagement.
Program Scope and Evaluation
The program, developed in partnership with provinces and territories, provided fully funded one-year licenses for pre-qualified AI scribe tools to eligible primary care clinicians across Canada. An independent evaluation by the Centre for Digital Health Evaluation (CDHE) at Women’s College Hospital Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care (WIHV) included 12,019 clinicians enrolled between June 2025 and February 2026, making it the largest national implementation and evaluation of AI scribes in primary care globally.
Key Benefits Reported
Among survey respondents, nearly 70% reported reduced administrative burden, and almost 80% reported lower cognitive load. Clinicians saved an average of 1.11 hours per week during work hours and nearly one hour per week afterhours, with gains appearing as early as three months. Same-day note completion increased from 55.9% at baseline to nearly 75% by six months, while delayed documentation dropped from 9.8% to under 3%.
Documentation Quality and Engagement
In a subset of Ontario practices, overall documentation completeness increased from 92.9% to 95.5%, supported by a retrospective chart review. More than 80% of clinicians reported feeling more engaged during patient visits, and 60% perceived improvements in the quality of care they provided.
Rapid Adoption Growth
Monthly AI-assisted encounters grew nearly fivefold, from over 244,000 in June 2025 to more than 1.22 million by February 2026. By February 2026, the program had over 7,400 active primary care clinician users (using an AI scribe 10 or more times per month). More than 90% of clinicians agreed that AI scribes added value to their clinical practice.
