What We've DonePutting patients first means giving patients faster, more convenient ways of accessing care. To do this, we're using new, innovative approaches to make sure patients can access the right care, at the right time.
Expanded scope of practice for nurse practitioners, pharmacists and paramedics
Nurse practitioners now have authority to admit and discharge patients in long‑term care, freeing up physician time.
Expanded urgent care centres
Regina Urgent Care Centre opened July 2024 and has already served 65,000 patients, diverting many from the General and Pasqua emergency rooms.
Expanded Virtual care and technology
The Virtual Physician Program now supports 30 rural hospital sites and has helped to avoid more than 5,220 potential emergency room service disruptions province-wide.
Expanded point-of-care testing (POCT)
Enabling diagnostic testing directly in emergency rooms when labs are unavailable in rural settings.
Patient navigation improvements
Alignment of SK Virtual Visit, HealthLine 811, and MySaskHealthRecord (which now has 750,000 registered users).
Pharmacists are accessing and treating strep throat and ear infections, with over 7,300 patients seen.
Optometrists are now providing glaucoma services, reducing delays for ophthalmology care.
Advanced care paramedics can perform suturing for minor wounds.
The Regina Urgent Care Centre also incorporated a dedicated Mental Health and Addictions Intake space to create a pathway to recovery and alleviate emergency room visits for these individuals.
The first Saskatoon Urgent Care Centre is under construction and on track to open in early 2027, it will also have a dedicated mental health and addictions intake space.
The Virtual Physician Program helps to retain rural and northern physicians by creating consult support and virtual team-based care.
Partnered with Whitecap Dakota First Nation to establish the Virtual Health Hub (VHH) — the first of its kind in Canada — using advanced technology to support northern communities.
Technicians for the Virtual Health Hub are being trained at SIIT through a program started in Fall 2024, strengthening Indigenous workforce participation and leadership. Training will prepare learners with the knowledge and skills required to support VHH operations and remote virtual care delivery.
Over 300 service disruptions avoided due to point-of-care-testing, helping rural emergency rooms remain open.
Improved online access to personal health information and virtual connections, including the following information:
Implement virtual primary care for unattached patients to reduce unnecessary visits, prevent unnecessary travel, and provide access to care.
Enhance remote monitoring and chronic disease management
Expand the Virtual Physician Program, complete a 2026 review, and recruit physicians nationally for rural and northern areas.
Introduce Canada-leading expansion of scope legislation allowing all regulated health professions to work to their full potential:
Work with Saskatchewan Health Authority and regulatory partners to ensure all providers practice to the top of their existing scope of training.
Identify new opportunities to broaden the roles of nurse practitioners and allied health professionals, including occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech-language pathologists, province-wide.
Enable and support team-based care models that allow each professional to practice to the top of their scope and refer tasks to the appropriate provider.
Continued expansion of scope for nurse practitioners, pharmacists and other professions.
Potential updates include:
Comprehensive review and modernization of Saskatchewan Health Authority operational policies to remove unnecessary administration barriers.
Five additional urgent care centres in development:
Implement consistent staffing models for all health care workers to:
Ensure the provincial virtual care approach has integrated navigation across virtual and in-person care to connect patients, providers, and services through virtual tools and shared clinical supports.
Expanded scope and team‑based models ensure more services are available closer to home, reducing travel and service disruptions.
Virtual care and urgent care centres reduce travel, increase access to specialist and diagnostic advice and stabilize rural services.
Modern scopes make better use of the workforce Saskatchewan already has.
Providers feel better supported, more effective, and more valued.
Patients can connect with providers quickly through virtual care, urgent care and clearer navigation pathways.
Patients with non‑emergency needs have alternative care options, decreasing unnecessary emergency room visits.
Modern scopes make better use of the workforce Saskatchewan already has.
Providers feel better supported, more effective, and more valued.
Navigation tools, virtual visits, and urgent care centres create more predictable and patient‑friendly care options.
Technology and virtual support stabilize services during workforce shortages and high‑demand periods.
Investments in virtual health and digital infrastructure prepare Saskatchewan to meet growing and evolving needs, ensuring care remains timely and accessible.
Patients can access the right provider at the right time, a foundational step in ensuring everyone in Saskatchewan has access to a primary care provider by the end of 2028.