Horizon and FirstHx partner to advance digital innovation in patient care and clinical research

Collaboration will help support patient-centred, data-informed approach to care delivery

(HORIZON) – Horizon Health Network (Horizon) and Canadian health technology company FirstHx are collaborating to find opportunities to use new, intelligent digital tools for patient history-taking and clinical data collection. These tools will empower patients, support clinical workflows and expand access to research opportunities across New Brunswick’s health system. 

Building on FirstHx’s long-standing role as the digital intake platform behind the province’s eVisitNB virtual care solution, the collaboration will focus on identifying innovative use cases within Horizon that improve patient experience and inform new models of care and research delivery.

The work aims to help streamline patient histories, standardize data collection, and increase the ability of clinicians and research teams to access accurate, secure, patient-driven information in real time. 

“Collaborating with technology partners like FirstHx enables Horizon to implement solutions that are purpose-built by Canadian founders to address the challenges of our health care system,” said Jennifer Sheils, Horizon’s Vice-President Strategy, Transformation and Chief Innovation Officer. “Partnerships like this reflect our commitment to working alongside forward-thinking organizations that share our vision for improving patient care and advancing the research that leads to better outcomes for patients and communities.” 

Horizon’s innovation and research teams will explore potential applications of the FirstHx platform in a variety of clinical and research settings.

This could include, for example, helping a cancer patient pre-screen for a clinical trial from home or allowing a researcher to identify eligible participants across multiple Horizon sites without manually reviewing hundreds of paper charts.

By enabling patients to share more complete medical histories before their appointments – such as tracking symptoms over time, uploading recent test results, or answering condition-specific questions – the collaboration supports a more patient-centered and data-informed approach to care delivery.

“FirstHx has a long history of working with New Brunswick patients as the digital front end of the province’s primary virtual care solution,” said Dr. Chris O’Connor, Chief Executive Officer of FirstHx. “We are excited to collaborate with Horizon on use cases that give patients a more direct voice in their care, expand access to clinical research opportunities, and help strengthen primary care and overall health system capacity across the province.” 

The partnership reflects Horizon’s ongoing commitment to adopting digital innovations that enhance patient care, strengthen research capacity, and improve access to health services for all New Brunswickers. 

About FirstHx 

FirstHx is a Canadian digital health company that has developed an intelligent, adaptive platform for patient history-taking and clinical data collection. By giving patients a stronger voice in their own care and integrating with existing health systems, FirstHx helps improve accuracy, efficiency, and access to care while supporting research and innovation across Canada.  
 

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