Quebec EHR to be up-and-running by spring

QUEBEC CITY – After announcing its postponement in October, Santé Québec confirms that the deployment of the Digital Health Record (DSN) will finally take place on May 9, 2026. It’s to start with pilot projects that had originally been planned for this fall in the CIUSSS du Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal and Mauricie-et-du-Centre-du-Québec.

Santé Québec does not cite cost overruns as the reason for postponing this project. Instead, the Crown corporation justifies the delay by stating that it was essential to “create all the necessary conditions for the success of this major digital transformation.”

The day after the DSN postponement was announced, opposition parties expressed fears of another SAAQclic fiasco due to cost overruns. The Quebec Liberal Party had even requested that the National Assembly’s Health and social Services Committee examine the management of the digital transformation within the healthcare system.

At the time the postponement was announced on Oct. 2, the estimated costs for this project were $307 million, according to information published on the Quebec government’s Information Resources Project Dashboard. Now, the dashboard shows the estimated cost is $402 million. To date, $279 million has been spent.

The dashboard also indicates that the project is 76 percent complete. The government describes the DSN project on its website as follows: “The DSN represents a major break from traditional systems: it replaces faxes, paper forms, and manual scanning with a smart, seamless, and interoperable digital platform. It allows clinicians to receive real-time alerts, avoid duplicate tests, better coordinate care, and improve patient safety. It transforms clinical, support, and administrative practices, while empowering citizens.”

In a press release, Erika Bially (pictured), vice president of information technology at Santé Québec, explains that the adjustment period was used to “optimize the design and configuration work, consolidate clinical content, and put in place the essential conditions for a successful deployment.”

She adds that “the chosen trajectory is better aligned with the operational realities of the two flagship establishments, and aims to ensure a smoother and more secure transition for both professionals and the public.”

Source: The Canadian Press