WELL Health Technologies is a Canadian digital healthcare company that operates outpatient clinics and develops software, telehealth, and AI tools for healthcare providers. Its services include electronic medical records platforms, clinical workflow software, AI-powered documentation tools, and cybersecurity solutions for healthcare organizations across Canada and the United States.
You came to healthcare through a relatively non-traditional route, having built a career in fintech before founding WELL. What drew you into healthcare?
I would describe myself as a tech generalist. My first company was in fintech, and I sold it to PayPal. I've always been drawn to businesses that are about more than just making money—places where you can do well and do good at the same time. What pushed me toward healthcare was my mother's illness. She developed a rare form of Alzheimer's, and going through that journey gave me a firsthand view of the healthcare system. My mother always wanted me to become a doctor, and I became an engineer instead, so this was my way of making amends. I've come to believe there's a special relationship between health and wealth. They're two of our most fundamental human needs.
When I started WELL in 2017 and 2018, I was shocked by how little the sector had been digitized. One Commonwealth study ranked Canada second to last for healthcare digitization, while another placed it in the bottom quartile among 40 modern healthcare systems.
Entrepreneurs are attracted to problems, and healthcare is full of problems that need solving.
The opportunity to modernize healthcare, improve access and support providers was what attracted me to the sector.
When you first looked at the Canadian healthcare system, what stood out to you as the biggest challenge affecting access to care?
Canada has a lot to be proud of. We have a system built around accessibility and far greater health equity than many jurisdictions. But people were often paying for care with their time. If you wait hours despite having a scheduled appointment, that starts to look like a mirage of access. Not everyone can take half a day off work and sit in a waiting room. The problem wasn't that Canadians lacked healthcare coverage; it was that too much friction stood between patients and care. When I looked at the digitization data and saw how far behind Canada was, it became clear that access could be improved dramatically through better technology and workflow.
Healthcare is heavily dependent on the provider, so inefficiency affects the entire system. If physicians spend too much time on administration, they spend less time with patients. When people delay treatment because it takes too long to see a doctor, those issues often become more serious and expensive to address later. A lot of the challenge comes down to fragmentation. The more effectively we can remove administrative friction and support providers, the more capacity we create throughout the system.
What are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about how healthcare is delivered in Canada?
One of the biggest misconceptions is that everything is owned and operated by the government. That's not how most outpatient care works in Canada. The vast majority of outpatient clinics are privately owned and operated by doctors, their partners and investors, while the care they provide is publicly funded. Doctors are effectively small business owners by necessity: they're expected to lease space, hire staff, manage operations and comply with extensive regulatory requirements, all while delivering care. Many are excellent at it, but they didn't go to medical school to learn how to run a business. Technology should help providers operate more efficiently and reduce administrative burden so they can focus on caring for patients.
When you zoom out and think about healthcare, everything ultimately depends on the care provider. We decided early on to build a platform focused on supporting providers because they're at the center of the system. Our goal was to build tools that amplify their ability to deliver care, improve efficiency and achieve better patient outcomes. We believed the biggest opportunity was to help providers do their jobs more effectively. If you improve the experience for physicians and care teams, you improve the experience for patients as well.
Modernization can be an abstract concept. What does a modern patient journey look like compared with a decade ago?
The process starts before a patient even walks into a clinic. Historically, most appointments were booked over the phone, creating an enormous administrative burden. When I started WELL, less than five percent of patient bookings in Canada were happening online.
Today, patients can schedule appointments in a few clicks and provide information about why they're coming in before they arrive. That information can be structured and presented directly to the provider before the appointment begins. Instead of spending the first part of the visit gathering basic information, the physician can focus on the clinical conversation. Across thousands of appointments, those efficiencies make an enormous difference.
Electronic medical records were supposed to improve healthcare, yet many physicians describe them as a burden. What went wrong?
When EMRs arrived, the promise was that paper records would be replaced by a digital system that made everything easier and more accessible.
Instead, in many cases, we turned doctors into very sophisticated data-entry clerks. Physicians suddenly had to learn complex software systems, satisfy growing documentation requirements and spend more time interacting with computers. Digital records brought significant benefits, but they also created new administrative burdens that many providers are still dealing with today.
AI covers a wide and often misunderstood landscape. Where can it have the most immediate impact in removing administrative friction and allowing providers to focus on patient care?
The most immediate impact is on workflow and documentation. AI-powered transcription technologies are already proving they can give physicians an average of two hours back per day. That's incredibly meaningful when you're dealing with a system under pressure and providers who are already stretched for time.
What's exciting is that AI isn't replacing physicians; it's removing work that doesn't require a physician's expertise. If technology can handle documentation, administrative tasks and information capture more efficiently, providers can spend more time focused on patient care. That's where we're already seeing real value, and I think we're still in the very early stages of what's possible.
