Ava was born in the frontlines of Canadian healthcare and has never left.

Ava is one of the country’s leading electronic medical record (EMR) systems trusted by clinics across Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario. Designed by physicians who were looking for a modern platform that met the real needs of Canadian healthcare: faster charting, simpler workflows, and more time for patients.

From one clinic to hundreds across Canada, this is how Ava raised the standard for the Canadian EMR.

2017: Building the EMR They Could Not Find

Ava began in a place many great ideas do: a clinic under pressure.

In 2016, Dr. Matt Henschke and Dr. Mike Forseth were co-founders of Britannia Medical Clinic in Canada. Like many physicians, they were tired of EMRs that made their work harder, not easier. So, instead of complaining, they built their own.

By 2017, the first version of Ava was made and it was deeply pragmatic. It wasn’t polished, but it worked. Designed by clinicians who understood the grind of practice, it streamlined charting, brought clarity to the daily rush, and let them focus more on care and less on clicks.

Ava began as a practical answer for one clinic. It would not stay that way for long.

2019: The Moment Things Changed

The first clinic outside of Britannia to use Ava was The Mustard Seed, a health and human services non-profit in Alberta. There was no formal migration, Dr. Forseth simply went down himself, trained the team, and got them running. That hands-on approach set the tone for Ava’s culture.

Then something unexpected happened. One of the physicians at the Mustard Seed wrote a glowing feature in the Alberta Medical Association (AMA) magazine. That article sparked a ripple effect. Clinics like Care@Sagehill, Charles Clark Medical Clinic, PurposeMed, and Wildrose began reaching out. Ava was not pushed into the market. It was pulled into it by healthcare teams looking for a better way to work.

"Whoever created Ava knew what needed to be done."
— Tracy Peterson, MOA, Trinity Rose Medical​

What began as an answer for one clinic was becoming the modern EMR Canadian physicians had been waiting for.

2020-2023: The Modern Alternative to Legacy EMRs

By 2020, Ava was no longer just an EMR built for one Canadian clinic. It was becoming a platform clinics across Canada were counting on, and scaling came with hard-earned lessons. Early migrations pushed the team to rebuild from scratch, forging what would become one of Ava’s greatest strengths: clean, reliable transitions off legacy systems and into a modern electronic medical record designed for real clinical workflow.

Test environments, clinic-led data review, validation, role-based training, direct go-live support, and a structured stabilization period became part of a repeatable implementation process. Over time, Ava developed the tools and expertise to migrate records from major Canadian EMRs including PS Suite, Med Access, Accuro, CHR, Healthquest, Juno, OSCAR, and MOIS. Today, more than 6.5 million patient charts have been moved into Ava and that brings experience earned through hundreds of real transitions

As adoption accelerated, Ava expanded beyond charting into connection. In 2021, Ava Connect launched, giving patients secure access to lab results, appointments, and messaging, bringing the patient portal experience Canadian clinics had been waiting for.

The company grew with purpose, adding new developers, support leads, and implementation teams while building features for complex clinic groups, multi-location practices, and collaborative care. By 2023, Ava expanded into British Columbia, integrated with Excelleris Labs and Teleplan Billing, and surpassed 175 clinics live across Alberta, proving that a Canadian-built EMR could scale without losing its soul.

“Yes, I’m familiar with Ava. It’s probably the best EMR in the business.”
— Locum, Athabasca Medical Clinic

2024: Becoming One of Canada’s Top EMRs

In 2024, Ava entered its next era with the launch of the Ava Intelligence Suite.

While much of the healthcare technology market was adding AI through separate applications and third-party windows, Ava took a different approach. Its AI tools were developed within the electronic medical record, close to the patient chart and the work clinicians were already doing.

Ava Scribe supports clinical documentation from the patient conversation. AutoChart identifies important information in clinical notes and places it into the appropriate areas of the chart. Document intelligence helps clinics match incoming records to the right patient and document type. Patient Care Plans and Patient Summary turn information already in the chart into something clinicians can act on more quickly.

The result is an AI-powered EMR that does not force healthcare teams to move between disconnected products or rebuild the patient story in another system.

Ava also strengthened its information security program through ISO 27001 certification, applying an internationally recognized standard to the protection of clinical and patient information.

By the end of 2024, Ava was no longer simply a modern alternative to older EMR software. It was showing clinics what the next generation of Canadian electronic medical records could deliver.

More built in. Less added on. More of the clinic day working as one.

2025: National Recognition and Results That Could Be Measured

In 2025, Ava’s place among Canada’s top EMRs became impossible to ignore. Clinics continued moving from PS Suite, Juno, Med Access, CHR, Healthquest, Accuro, and other legacy systems, helping Ava surpass six million migrated patient charts and more than 300 clinics. Ontario also became an active part of Ava’s national business, with significant market activity from clinics and healthcare organizations ready for a better EMR.

One of the year’s clearest demonstrations came when Calgary Foothills Primary Care Network went live. Ava brought more than 450,000 patient charts from five PS Suite databases into one connected environment supporting over 200 users. Within the first month, Health Link made 511 bookings directly through Public Booking. Ava Scribe saved more than six minutes per patient, while one program increased daily appointment capacity by 25%. Ava was not simply storing information. It was helping one of the largest primary care networks create more room to deliver care.

But 2025 was about more than scale. It was about purpose.

Ava became B Corp certified, a milestone that reflects what has always been true: Ava exists to make healthcare better for providers and patients, not just to profit. It is healthcare technology built with responsibility at its core, grounded in the belief that better systems create better care, and that innovation should always move in the direction of people.

That profit and mission balance was also recognized nationally. Ava was named to the Deloitte Fast 50 Companies-to-Watch, achieving 364% revenue growth, and received the Vendor Innovation Program award, marking Ava as one of the most impactful EMR innovators in the country.

This year also showed how Ava took AI in healthcare beyond scribes and into the future of clinical intelligence. Not as a third-party add-on, but as technology built directly into the core of the EMR. Tools like AutoChart, document classifiers, AI-powered care plans, and Patient Summary began reshaping how physicians navigate complexity, reducing the weight of documentation and bringing instant clarity to patient care.

“I just wanted to say how absolutely amazing Ava is. Literally I think I've lived longer because of it.”
— Dr. Meyer

2026: Building for the Next Stage of Canadian Healthcare

In 2026, Ava moved from national momentum to national leadership. For clinics searching for the best EMR in Canada.

MedTech Breakthrough named Ava Best Electronic Health Record Service 2026 through a global awards program that received more than 4,000 nominations. The recognition put international weight behind what Canadian clinics were already experiencing: Ava is not a newer layer on an older system. It is a modern EMR built to replace the limitations of legacy software.

Ontario became one of Ava’s most active growth markets with substantial market activity from clinics and healthcare organizations ready to move beyond legacy EMRs.

Ontario clinics are looking for more than a new place to chart. They want supported migration, built-in AI, connected team workflows, patient communication, and responsive Canadian support in one EMR. Ava’s experience across independent clinics, multi-location groups, and growing care teams gives it a strong foundation for supporting Ontario practices as they evaluate what comes next.

In May 2026, Ava also brought interoperable electronic lab ordering into real clinic use. Its first eOrdering MVP beta site went live, connecting community ordering, tracking, and reconciliation with provincial laboratory infrastructure. Together with Patient Summary, FHIR-based exchange, and Ava Connect, this work is helping create a more connected patient record with fewer gaps between the people involved in care.

Across Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario, Ava is no longer simply the alternative to legacy EMRs.

It is becoming the EMR other systems are measured against.

What Comes Next

Healthcare is changing, and the EMR has to change with it.

Ava started in one clinic. Now it supports millions of patient charts across Canada, bringing together security, intelligence, and speed in one modern platform.

Not built for clicks. Built for care.

And as Ava expands nationally, one thing remains true:

The best healthcare technology doesn’t replace the human side of medicine. It protects it.