Self-Service web portal to get your vaccine QR Code?…not so self-serving after all.
Like thousands in Canada, I was impatient to get the vaccination and get the vaccine passport as quickly as possible. However, I didn't know that getting the vaccine passport would be trickier in Quebec because I had no Quebec Health Insurance Card (I am an international student). I ended up not receiving my proof through mail or email.
Later, someone told me to go to the self-service web portal to get my electronic proof (QR Code). It is a web form where you are asked to provide your Quebec Health Insurance Card details, your parent's name and vaccination details (Vaccine type, doses, date of the vaccination).
So, I decided to go to the "self-service" web portal to get my vaccination proof, but my proof wasn't available yet there either.
Nonetheless, it took me only 30 minutes to get my proof with a simple phone call. So I have mixed feelings about my own experience.
Thus, this is my evaluation of my own experience and research of what this online public service product does well and where it could be improved.
Let's start with the positives!
Where Does the Product Do Well?
- IT'S FREE! : I appreciated that it was a public product, and I could get my proof at no cost. [Unlike my own country where some clinics charged people for vaccinations and who wanted to receive the vaccination proof.]
- Well Designed and Simple Language: The Web Portal's web page was clean and precise. It has used the simple language of instruction (for English) and has most of (but not all) the necessary input spaces and information. [Alot of time, people tend to forget how vital web designing is for an online service product, and it needs to be accessible, readable and simplified.]
- Helpful information on Consent: The Web-page had a warning note specifying non-consensus use of this web form. Proof of vaccination is subjected to legal penalties or criminal prosecution.
- reCAPTCHA: Although the standard for many sites for confirmation. It was appreciated that reCAPTCHA was still present because it enables web hosts to distinguish between human and automated access to websites or bots.
- Easy for the Quebec Health Insurance Card Holders: It takes a few minutes if you have previously signed up for a vaccine appointment with your Quebec Health Insurance Card. The Web portal and its connected database will already have your information stored; all you have to do is confirm your identity and provide the vaccine dates and type of vaccination you have received in the forms.
How can it be improved?
- Due to my information missing in their database, I did not receive my proof in my email or mailbox, and I didn't know who to contact to get my electronic proof.
It would have been helpful if vaccination clinics provided contact information on parties responsible for giving out electronic evidence of vaccination if an individual could not receive theirs from emails/mailbox/or web-portal service.
2. Inside the web page, the link for contact information is in the top right corner. It took me a couple of seconds to navigate because the font size was small.
It would have been better if the Contact information were present on the same web page, with a large font size.
3. Before I grew impatient, the error messages after submitting my form informed me that the database was still updating and would include more types of people in the future.
It would have been helpful to estimate how long it would take for their database to be updated.
Online and Offline Gaps:
- Although there is an option to specify that you don't have a Quebec Health Insurance card, it does not help specific individuals such as me get the proof of vaccination.
Hence, despite providing my correct information several times, I was denied the proof because the error message read that my information wasn't updated in their database.
Several international students are given health insurance cards from their university, which can be used in public and private hospitals and clinics.
It would be great if other forms of Health Insurance Cards or proof of identification were also incorporated in their databases.
Likewise, there are other groups of people who may not have Quebec health cards. Such as,
- Tourists who got vaccinated in Quebec.
- New Immigrants.
- Undocumented people.
- Refugee claimant (According to Quebec Government's official Health Website, Refugee Claimants are not eligible for Quebec Health insurance and are only suitable for Interim Federal Health Program).
Depending on the type of population, inside the web form, there should have been alternative mechanisms for identity confirmation for different groups of people.
Policy and Regulatory gaps.
- What if the Health Cards Expire?: There could be possibilities where a person's health care got expired after a few days who got his vaccinated.
There's not much information as to how the database treats those individuals with expired health cards.
It could also mean that a person may need to wait a couple of weeks to get their new health card before getting their vaccination proof. They probably need to make a phone call like me to confirm their identity.
2. I wasn't the only one: According to the CityNews article, several people had issues receiving their QR code for different reasons and had trouble entering Bars, Restaurants or gyms. The Quebec Government gave two week grace period for that. However, it wasn't sufficient for many.
Different people had trouble downloading their QR code post-2 weeks grace period.
3. Tell people how it is: The Web-page should highlight in the text that the database is still being developed to meet the demands of different groups of people.
It simply shouldn't be an error message.
It is okay to let people know before they start panicking about their electronic proof (like me!). Maybe send them an email or a mail asking them if they have received their electronic confirmation yet or remind them to get their electronic proof.
