AI and Primary Care: A Living Lab to Help Health Systems Learn at the Pace of Technological Progress

We are pleased to announce the first DFCM Research Rounds of 2026, featuring a keynote presentation by Dr. Onil Bhattacharyya, MD, PhD

Dr. Onil Bhattacharyya, MD, PhD, is the Frigon Blau Chair in Family Medicine Research at Women’s College Hospital and Director of the Institute for Health Systems Solutions and Virtual Care. He is also the Co-Chair of the Canadian Primary Care Research Network and Board Chair for the Canadian Primary Care Research Consortium. In addition, he is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Bhattacharyya will discuss AI and Primary Care: A Living Lab to Help Health Systems Learn at the Pace of Technological Progress. Ideally, primary care learning health systems incorporate best available evidence into decisions about program design, implementation and spread. We should ask the questions: Does it work? Does it scale? Does it work at scale? The
rapid progress of digital tools using artificial intelligence (AI) has made this already fraught process even more difficult. This presentation will use two examples to illustrate the challenges and opportunities before us: AI scribes and AI clinical decision support tools. It will also describe a model for a living laboratory that could generate insights at the pace of policy and shape how AI could support the evolution of primary care.

This virtual session will provide valuable insights into the role of AI in primary care and include time for discussion.

Event Details:

• Location: Zoom – https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/88529664350

Register here  registration closes January 12, 2026