The winners of the 2026 edition
Voting opens tomorrow, May 21
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Recognizes projects that transform community challenges into concrete opportunities with a positive impact on local healthcare services.
Reinventing Rural Health I Charlevoix, Québec
Founded in 2020, Living Lab Charlevoix addresses persistent challenges in access to care in rural settings, within a context marked by workforce shortages, temporary emergency department closures, and the weakening of primary care services. Grounded in more than fifteen years of research demonstrating access inequities and avoidable excess mortality, the project aims to transform the organization of care in regional areas.
The Living Lab is a rural hospital co-creation model that brings together citizens, healthcare professionals, managers, decision-makers, and learners through approaches inspired by design thinking. It notably includes a leadership and innovation fellowship designed to equip local teams and the next generation of health professionals to respond to rural realities.
Since its inception, more than 150 fellows have participated across 20 cohorts. In the Baie-Saint-Paul emergency department, the initiative enabled the implementation of self-managed nursing schedules, preventing a partial service closure and reducing mandatory overtime by
40 to 50 percent. Deployed in Charlevoix, the model is currently being replicated in other Québec territories, with expansion planned for the Côte-Nord in 2026.
Highlights AI-driven solutions
or applications that simplify clinical processes and support healthcare professionals.ou une application qui simplifient les processus cliniques et soutiennent les professionnels de la santé.
Document AI solution to automate patient data processing in community pharmacies | Québec
Medzy Clarity is a document-focused artificial intelligence solution designed to automate the reading, classification, and extraction of clinical data received by community pharmacies, where information is still largely transmitted via fax or unstructured documents. The solution automatically identifies document types, assigns them to the appropriate patient records, and extracts relevant data into pharmacy systems, while integrating approval workflows that allow professionals to validate information before clinical use.
The solution aims to significantly reduce administrative burden and improve document processing speed. Real-world deployments show marked efficiency gains: the proportion of documents classified and assigned within 15 minutes increased from approximately 34% to over 62%, reaching up to 76% during peak months. For documents processed with AI assistance, the share handled within one hour rose from 37% to more than 61%. Pharmacies using Medzy Clarity also report time savings of 20 to 40 hours per week and fewer data entry errors.
Built on an AI specialized in document processing, validated in real clinical environments and integrated via API with pharmacy management systems, Medzy Clarity is deployed as a cloud-based solution designed for rapid integration and progressive scaling across primary care settings.
Celebrates technological projects that promote interdisciplinary collaboration and optimize care pathways through fair use of professional resources.
Interdisciplinary Primary Care Pain Management Program | Laurentides
Launched in September 2023 within a GMF-U, this program addresses a critical access issue, as wait times in secondary care had reached up to eight years. It provides rapid, structured primary care management for individuals living with persistent pain, reserving secondary care for truly complex cases.
The interdisciplinary team includes a clinical nurse, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, kinesiologist, and social worker. The model combines individual and group follow-ups, targeted education, and tailored activation strategies to strengthen self-management, autonomy, and quality of life.
Between October 2023 and January 2025, 215 patients were supported (1,967 visits), and only 5% required referral to secondary care. Clinical data show significant improvements in pain intensity and interference. The program is now expanding to serve 330 patients per year.
Honors initiatives that encourage healthy behaviors and reduce risks through innovative and technological approaches.
Citizen-Led Prevention Through the Sentinel Role I Québec et régions
Acting for Healthy Aging (APBV) transforms health prevention by democratizing the sentinel role among citizens, seniors, and caregivers. Led by the AGES Foundation, this digital initiative equips the population through the AINÉÉS AD-PLUS shared language, developed and validated to support the early identification of
aging-related signs, using a framework shared with healthcare professionals.
More than a website, APBV is the digital infrastructure of a social geriatrics network active across 12 regions in Québec, reaching a potential population of 75,000 seniors. Since its phased launch, the platform has reached approximately 6,200 active users, with an engagement rate close to 48%.
APBV connects citizen needs with clear clinical pathways, as demonstrated by the atrial fibrillation screening pilot project. By integrating asynchronous Sentinel training, APBV supports meaningful ownership of prevention and strengthens continuity of care.
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Intervention Opportunities (IO) RxVigilance platform | Community pharmacy
The Intervention Opportunities (IO) project supports the integration of clinical services into the daily practice of community pharmacists. Integrated into the RxVigilance platform, the feature enables the automatic identification and prioritization of relevant clinical interventions based on the analysis of the patient record.
The opportunities generated include vaccination, deprescribing, therapy optimization, and therapeutic monitoring, grounded in recognized clinical criteria. The analysis is performed instantly, with no added tasks or duplication of work, directly within existing workflows.
IO improves access to walk-in clinical services, strengthens continuity of therapeutic follow-up, and supports more targeted preventive interventions. The structured management of opportunities promotes coherent, shared care across pharmacy teams.
Results from the pilot project demonstrate strong clinical relevance. An official rollout is planned for March 2026, with high dissemination potential through RxVigilance, which is already widely used in community pharmacies across Québec and Canada.
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Mawlugutinej Working Together Listuguj Health Centre | Gaspésie
The Mawlugutinej project (“Working Together”) was created to address the persistent barriers faced by Indigenous women in the community of Listuguj in accessing breast and cervical cancer screening. Geographic, cultural, and linguistic obstacles, combined with limited trust in the healthcare system, led to delayed
screening and late diagnoses. With the support of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, the Listuguj Health Centre implemented screening clinics directly within the community, in partnership with the CISSS de la Gaspésie and the MSSS.
The project is built on culturally safe services, coordinated by a Mi’gmaq-led team. It includes cervical cancer screening, mammography through a mobile unit, administrative support, and structured clinical follow-up. To date, nearly 300 women have accessed screening services, including 161 mammograms and 150 cervical screenings, where no local services previously existed.
Mawlugutinej has fostered a culture of prevention, strengthened women’s empowerment, and rebuilt trust in health services. Co-created with the community, the project now stands as an inspiring model of equitable, culturally grounded cancer screening.
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Intelligent telephony solution for medical clinics | Québec et autres régions
ComUnik addresses a major organizational challenge in primary care: inefficient management of telephone communications in medical clinics, leading to missed calls, long response times, and administrative staff overload, with direct impacts on access to care and the patient experience.
The solution is built on an intelligent telephony platform that centralizes calls, automates processes, and integrates directly with the MYLE electronic medical record, a first in Québec. This integration enables a reported time savings of up to 25 percent per call and provides managers with real-time visibility into team performance and the patient experience.
Deployed in primary care settings, the solution has been adopted by numerous medical clinics and community pharmacies. Observed outcomes include fewer missed calls, improved patient satisfaction, and better work organization. Designed for multi-site deployment, ComUnik is scalable and replicable across primary care environments.
