Custom Vaccine Record Submission Portal: Enhancing Client Experience and Data Processes

Introduction #

Maintaining accurate child and youth immunization records is a foundational component of Ontario’s public health system. Reliable records support routine immunization assessment, facilitate outbreak response, and help schools, child care centres, and public health units (PHUs) meet their obligations under the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA) and the Child Care and Early Years Act (CCEYA). However, having up-to-date records depends on more than legislation alone. It requires practical, accessible mechanisms that enable families and healthcare providers to submit immunization information efficiently and consistently.

This article examines how Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) is modernizing the collection of immunization records, moving from a fragmented intake process spanning voicemail, fax, email, and online reporting toward a standardized web-based submission workflow. It explores the operational challenges that shaped the solution, the role of QR-assisted reporting in simplifying client submissions, and the governance considerations that continue to inform ongoing development.

Ontario Landscape #

A review of immunization record submission options across Ontario PHUs performed in June of 2025 found that, while all units support ICON (the province’s Panorama-integrated immunization reporting tool) seven PHUs also provide supplementary custom submission portals. This reflects a broader trend toward locally tailored intake workflows. In addition to online reporting, phone and fax were among the most common submission channels.

WDGPH was among the PHUs that chose to supplement ICON with an in-house reporting solution designed to support local program and operational requirements.

While ICON provides a standardized pathway into Panorama, PHUs retain flexibility in how records are collected and processed. Many locally developed solutions focus on improving the client submission experience, reducing administrative effort, or supporting organization-specific workflows. WDGPH’s modernization efforts followed this approach, resulting in the development of a custom immunization reporting portal with QR-assisted submission capabilities that simplify reporting for both clients and staff.

Legacy Process #

WDGPH can receive hundreds of vaccine record submissions weekly​, with no standardized submission format​. Immunization records arrive through multiple channels (supporting client preferences and accessibility) including voicemail, fax, email, and ICON, each leading to a different intake experience for clients and staff. An example workflow diagram of vaccine record processing at WDGPH is shown below.

While each channel allows clients to provide information, the resulting intake process is highly fragmented. Regardless of how records are received, health record administrators (HRAs) are responsible for reviewing submissions and updating Panorama.

Among these channels, ICON is unique in that it integrates directly with Panorama. However, direct integration does not eliminate many of the operational challenges faced by HRAs, who frequently encounter issues requiring manual review. Through ICON, clients enter vaccine names, dates, dosages, and demographic information themselves, alongside uploaded scans of paper records. Differences between entered information and supporting documentation must be manually reconciled before records can be accepted.

Beyond data reconciliation challenges, HRAs often navigate between multiple systems to complete record updates, introducing additional administrative effort during high-volume reporting periods. During busy ISPA seasons, HRAs must open the client’s Panorama record after submitting in ICON to determine updated overdue status.

Modernization Requirements #

Any replacement for the existing process needed to do more than collect immunization records electronically. It had to securely handle personal health information (PHI), fit within existing Panorama workflows, and accommodate the wide variety of record formats routinely received from clients and healthcare providers.

Success also depended on close collaboration with HRAs and immunization program staff, whose experience helped identify where administrative effort was being spent and where improvements would have the greatest impact. Developed internally by WDGPH’s data team, the resulting solution was shaped by both workflow and technical considerations.

Custom Portal #

Submission #

Today, immunization records are submitted primarily through WDGPH’s web-based reporting portal, with in-person and paper records remaining available for clients who prefer or require alternative methods. This represents a significant shift from the previous model, where records arrived through multiple disconnected channels and required substantial manual handling before they could be entered into Panorama. Compared to the legacy model, the portal provides a more consistent intake pathway and reduces variation in how information is received and processed before entry into Panorama.

Rather than requiring clients to manually transcribe detailed vaccine information into structured fields, the portal emphasizes accurate identification of the client and streamlined submission of supporting documentation, leaving vaccine interpretation to HRAs. This reflects a deliberate shift in responsibility: clients provide evidence of immunization, while trained staff interpret and validate the record.

A key feature of the modernized process is the use of personalized QR codes included in immunization notices, described in a previous article. When scanned, these codes direct clients to the reporting portal and automatically populate demographic information associated with the notice recipient, meaning clients can focus on providing the information needed to update their immunization record. By reducing the amount of manual entry by clients, the process is faster and less prone to data entry errors.

Operational Benefits and Human Oversight #

This past ISPA season saw a similar number of record submissions through our custom portal and ICON, allowing for a comparison of the two workflows. While direct processing time for a typical record was roughly equivalent between both systems, several operational benefits were observed.

The custom portal provides a simpler reporting experience for clients and a more structured intake process for staff. Pre-filled information reduces client time required to complete a submission, while immunization-specific data entry remains the responsibility of trained staff, helping preserve data quality. By limiting variability in how records are submitted and processed, the portal supports more consistent workflows and may lower cognitive load. The system also accommodates multiple staff working simultaneously, improving scalability during busy reporting periods.

A key operational benefit of our submission solution is the ability to create separate queues, allowing us to prioritize record entry appropriately when handling ISPA suspension waves - functionality ICON does not provide.

For HRAs, the primary benefit is that submissions arrive in a consistent format. This makes records easier to review, match to existing client information, and enter into Panorama. Standardized submissions reduce the time spent interpreting records or resolving formatting inconsistencies, allowing staff to focus on verification and quality assurance. While automation supports intake and standardization, human review remains an essential part of the process. Staff continue to assess submissions, resolve discrepancies, and ensure records are accurate before they enter the provincial immunization system.

When client info is entered accurately, ICON can be faster, but corrections are often needed which can slow down the workflow. The ICON submission also requires validating all records for a given client; in cases where a single missing immunization needs to be added to a client’s record, this creates needless work.

The table below summarizes the comparison of operational characteristics of ICON and the WDGPH reporting portal.

Accessibility and Design #

The portal was designed to make immunization reporting as simple as possible. Clients can access pre-filled submission forms directly from their immunization notice, reducing the effort required to report immunizations and helping improve record completeness. Alternative submission methods remain available to ensure clients are not excluded by technology, connectivity, or literacy barriers. These design decisions reflect a broader emphasis on accessibility, data quality, and human oversight throughout the intake process.

Next Steps #

Future enhancements will focus on strengthening privacy protections while preserving the accessibility gains achieved through the current design.

Beyond privacy, there are opportunities to further standardize how immunization records enter the system, regardless of whether they are submitted through the portal, fax, email, or other channels. Future work may focus on extracting and structuring information from documents received in a variety of formats, including PDFs, images, and scanned records, reducing variation in downstream processing and improving data quality at intake using AI, with traditional health record transcription work shifting to AI quality assurance and supervision work.

Additional opportunities exist to expand multilingual accessibility and leverage increasingly standardized submission data for operational analytics and continuous process improvement.

Conclusion #

The evolution of WDGPH’s vaccine record submission processes demonstrates how targeted changes to intake workflows can improve both client experience and operational efficiency. By introducing a standardized submission pathway, reducing manual data entry, and simplifying how records are received and reviewed, the portal has helped improve the quality and usability of immunization information before it reaches Panorama.

Equally important, the modernization effort illustrates that digital transformation in public health is not solely a technical exercise. Decisions around accessibility, privacy, governance, and human oversight shaped the design of the solution as much as the technology itself. While opportunities for further improvement remain, the portal provides a practical example of how locally developed tools can support both operational needs and public health program objectives.