Why I Built a Canadian-Centric Medical Transcription App: Affordable, Privacy-Focused, and Tailored for Medical Professionals

As a practicing doctor and a developer, I’ve seen firsthand how medical documentation can slow down our workflows. People that have worked with me also can also attest how great my calligraphy is. The time we spend on notes and transcription is time we’re not spending with patients. Many transcription solutions on the market are either too expensive, don’t prioritize privacy (which is especially important in the Canadian healthcare system), or produce outputs I simply don’t find useful and have many “features” that simply are useless.

A while ago, I had built a solution that I would run on my laptop. After some peer pressure, I spent some week-ends and nights improving it and making it an actual app specifically designed with Canadian doctors in mind.

It’s affordable, streamlined, in English and in French, and, most importantly, fully compliant with Canadian privacy laws like PIPEDA and Quebec’s Bill 64.

(Of course if you are in the U.S or Europe, you can still use the app. See here to learn more.)

Addressing the Needs of Canadian Doctors

In Canada, we face unique challenges when it comes to handling patient data. The privacy standards set by PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act) and Quebec’s Bill 64 are among the most stringent in the world, and rightfully so. Patient data is sensitive, and as healthcare providers, we have a responsibility to keep it secure.

Most available medical transcription apps store data in the United States or across multiple regions, which opens up concerns about cross-border data transfers and data residency laws. This is a risk that I knew Canadian doctors shouldn’t have to take. So I built an app that ensures all data processing and storage happens in Canada, giving healthcare providers peace of mind knowing they are fully compliant with Canadian law.

Privacy-First Approach

The app’s privacy-first design ensures that your patients’ sensitive information is protected at every step:

• No Personal Data Stored Long-Term: Transcriptions and audio files are processed to generate the medical note, then immediately deleted. No sensitive data lingers in the system, reducing risk.

• Transcription Compliance: I self host speech to text AI models in Canada and use redaction of PII before sending the data to Azure hosted LLMs in Canada. Adding these steps was tedious but worth it, as I have full control over where the data transits and make sure no data will be used for training.

• All Data Processed in Canada: From transcription to note generation, all data processing and storage is end to end encrypted and takes place in Canadian servers. This eliminates the risk of cross-border data transfers and ensures full compliance with PIPEDA and Quebec’s Bill 64.

In short, the app was built with privacy at its core. By keeping everything local and secure, Canadian healthcare providers can focus on what matters most—caring for their patients—without worrying about data security.

Tailored for Doctors and nurses, by a Doctor

As a doctor myself, I know exactly what’s needed when it comes to documentation. The app is designed to integrate smoothly into your existing workflow without any unnecessary complexity.

The medical notes generated by the app are structured in a way that mirrors how we, as doctors, typically write and review our notes. This means fewer revisions, less manual entry, and more time focusing on patient care.

Moreover, I’ve avoided including any features that aren’t directly useful to a doctor’s workflow. The app is simple and easy to use, allowing you to dictate patient information, generate a structured medical note, and copy it into your electronic medical record (EMR) system—all in one streamlined process.

How do you use it?

Select the template, the encounter type and just go. You can dictate on your phone on the fly, or directly from your desktop, all at the same web address. The notes are visible on the desktop.

The dictation mode is not conventional dictation! Tell the case story as if you were telling it to a colleague; it’s really intuitive.

For conversation mode, it’s to record your encounter with the patient, and the note is then generated automatically.

Customize your medical notes

The application supports all specialties with optimized models for:

• Emergency and Outpatient Services

• Nursing Care

• Medical Specialties

• Surgical Specialties

• Psychiatry

• General Medicine

Simply click on Edit Template to adapt it to your needs. Consult the FAQ for more information.

Quickly edit the generated note

The mic icon is straight up transcription and the green light bulb is for smart inserts. For example, you examined the patient’s knee and everything is normal? Say: ‘Generate a full normal knee exam.’ Then go from there and adapt, save changes and copy paste in the EMR.

You also get a suggested DDX to consider based on the information in the medical note.

Also, I keep improving the outputs and the improvement cycle is fast. Do you have feedback? Request new features? By reaching out, you don’t reach out to some random support, you reach out directly to me, and we speak the same medical language.

Affordable and Accessible

One of the key pain points I encountered when looking for medical transcription solutions was the cost. Many available apps charge upwards of $150 CAD per month, which can be prohibitive for smaller practices or doctors who need a reliable solution without the high price tag.

Because I coded this app from the ground up, handling both the development, design (of lack of), front end, back end and medical aspects myself, I was able to keep costs low and focus on quality and security. The app is priced at a fraction of the usual cost (40$CAD per month), making it the most affordable options on the market.

For Canadian doctors, this means you get a transcription tool that’s built to your specific needs—at a fraction of the cost of other solutions—all while ensuring compliance with the country’s strict privacy regulations.

I’m also inviting specialists, nurses and any other healthcare providers to collaborate with me. My goal is to continue improving the app to fit the nuances of each specialty, making it a tool that can be used daily, by all types of healthcare providers.

Click here for a free trial (no credit card required) and experience how this Canadian-centric solution can streamline your medical documentation.

Happy medical charting (never thought I’d say that)

-Julien