July 10, 2025
Why Human Connection Still Matters in Digital Health
Canada’s healthcare system is becoming increasingly digital. But in our pursuit of digital efficiency, are we overlooking the importance of the human touch?
Canada’s healthcare system is becoming increasingly digital. But in our pursuit of digital efficiency, are we overlooking the importance of the human touch?
In recent years, Canada has made significant strides in modernizing its healthcare system. Patients can now book appointments online, access test results through secure portals and consult with providers via virtual visits. These advancements are often celebrated as examples of a system on the brink of true transformation.
But for those with complex health needs, the reality can be very different.
One patient’s journey through Ontario’s healthcare system reveals a troubling gap between digital convenience and genuine person-centred care. It highlights how fragmented services, poor follow-up, and a lack of human support can leave patients lost and vulnerable. It also raises a crucial question: in our pursuit of digital efficiency, are we overlooking the importance of human connection?
When my friend first noticed blistering skin and peeling, he was concerned. As a diabetic, he knew that changes in his skin could signal something serious. He called his family doctor and waited two weeks for an appointment. During that time, his condition worsened.
At the appointment, the doctor took one look and made an urgent referral to a dermatologist. He was prescribed antibiotics and a skin cream. The visit lasted 15 minutes.
Several days passed with no news. My friend called the dermatologist's office and received only a voicemail stating that they did not accept calls for appointments. Days later, a text arrived, assigning him a time and date. No human contact. No opportunity to reschedule. He accepted because he had no choice.
During the dermatology visit, a biopsy was performed, and new medication was prescribed. He was told to return in six weeks once the lab results were ready.
Soon after starting the medication, his blood sugar spiked. Alarmed, he contacted his family doctor, who arranged for him to see a diabetes nurse—two weeks later.
By the time he met with the nurse, his blood sugar levels remained dangerously high. The nurse listened but explained they could not adjust his treatment until the dermatologist confirmed a care plan. She did her best to help, but my friend left feeling confused and alone.
By that point, he had dealt with four providers: his family doctor, dermatologist, diabetes nurse and potentially an endocrinologist.
None of them seemed to be communicating. He had no idea who was in charge.
Then came a referral to a group at a major Toronto teaching hospital. Months passed. No appointment. When he followed up with the dermatologist’s office, he was told the referral was rejected due to a "catchment area" rule. He lived only 20 minutes away. No one had informed him. He was left with no plan and no path forward.
On paper, Ontario's healthcare is increasingly digital. Online portals, symptom-checking apps and virtual care visits offer convenience.
But they don’t work for everyone, especially not for people with complex, overlapping conditions.
A 2024 study by the Fraser Institute found that Ontario patients wait a median of 23.6 weeks between referral and specialist treatment (Fraser Institute, 2024). Meanwhile, CIHI reports that fewer than 82% of Canadians receive hip and knee replacements within the six-month benchmark.
In emergency departments, the average wait time for admitted patients to receive a hospital bed in Ontario reached 19.2 hours in 2024, well above the 8-hour provincial target (Canadian Medical Association, 2024).
At this stage of Ontario’s digital transformation, tools such as online booking for flu shots or prescription renewals can be particularly helpful.
But they can’t:
Most importantly, they can’t listen. They can’t reassure. They can’t advocate.
Other countries have recognized this challenge and invested in human-led care coordination.
In the United Kingdom, the National Health Service (NHS) employs Care Coordinators through Primary Care Networks to support patients with long-term conditions. These coordinators help with scheduling, provider communication and care follow-up.
In Australia, Nurse Navigators—introduced across Queensland in 2016—play a central coordination role. They guide patients through hospital and community services, liaise with specialists and GPs, craft personalized care plans, and work to avert unnecessary hospital stays. A 2024 evaluation of Queensland’s Nurse Navigator program found they reduce care duplication, support patient self‑management and demonstrably decrease hospital admissions (Byrne et al., 2024).
In the United States, care coordination programs—particularly those serving high-risk populations—continue to yield strong results in 2024. A collaborative dementia care program in a Medicare population achieved an average annual savings of over $5,700 per member, along with a reduction in emergency department visits and lower overall utilization (American Journal of Managed Care), 2024).
These systems prioritize both human support and automation.
Serefin Health offers a slightly different model than relying wholly on technology. Instead of apps or automated messages, we assign each patient a dedicated virtual care coordinator: someone who knows their history coordinates their care, and is available when and where they need help.
Serefin care coordinators:
This model doesn’t replace technology; it enhances it. Our care coordinators use digital tools, but lead with compassion, context and critical thinking.
A fragmented healthcare system is more than inefficient. It can be dangerous.
In Canada, care fragmentation disproportionately impacts older adults with complex conditions. A recent 2025 study across British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Prince Edward Island found that 38.8–53.5% of adults aged 65+ with dementia also live with five or more other chronic conditions (Government of Canada, 2025). Managing such complex multimorbidity without coordinated care leads to increased hospitalizations, medication conflicts, redundant testing, and emotional stress for patients, caregivers and families.
This is compounded by a system that still largely organizes care around individual diseases rather than people.
As a 2024 Canadian policy review explains, current clinical guidelines “fall short” when applied to people living with multiple chronic illnesses, often forcing patients to navigate “contradictory advice, multiple providers, and unclear priorities” (Health Policy and Systems, 2024).
The result is a care experience defined by fragmentation, not connection. And for many, especially seniors and their supporting caregivers, that gap can be life-altering.
When my friend finally got that text assigning him a dermatologist appointment, he accepted it without question—not because it was convenient, but because it was his only option. No one had spoken to him. No one had asked how he was coping with the pain, or the fear, or the blood sugar spikes that followed. He was left to manage the coordination himself between doctors, nurses, pharmacies and hospitals.
Digital tools didn’t ease that burden. They magnified it.
What he needed wasn’t another notification. He needed someone to talk to. Someone who could check in, explain what the medication meant for his diabetes, and call the hospital to challenge a rejected referral. Someone to say, “You’re not alone in this.”
That’s the difference human support makes.
Even the most advanced technology can’t:
As Canada continues to modernize healthcare, we must remember that people don't just need information. They need connection, and, often, emotional support.
If you're a decision-maker in healthcare, public policy, insurance or employee benefits, ask yourself:
Because for millions of Canadians living with chronic or complex conditions, fragmented care isn't a glitch. It's the default.
At Serefin Health, we believe there's a better way. We combine digital efficiency with real human care. Our nurses coordinate, follow up, advocate, and guide—so no one is left navigating the system alone.
We don’t just close care gaps. We create continuity.
Because healing isn’t just a process.
It’s a relationship.
To learn more about how Serefin Health supports individuals through human-led care coordination, visit www.serefin.com or contact us to get started.
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