Clinical documentation on phiz

AI Scribes in Public Health: Reimagining Workflows Around Care

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Introduction #

If you’ve worked in public health, you already know this feeling.

A single client interaction rarely stays in one place. Notes are written, then rewritten. Information is entered into one EMR (Electronic Medical Record) system, then entered again into another (e.g., iPHIS). Investigation forms, whether developed by Public Health Ontario (PHO) or by local public health units for specific diseases, must also be completed. What begins as a conversation can become a series of fragmented entries across platforms, pulling staff time and attention away from listening, care planning, and supporting people and communities.

AI scribes can help shift that attention back.

VaxLink: streamlining vaccine workflows with barcodes

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Delivering quality, attentive service in an immunization clinic requires seamless workflows, but documentation remains a persistent bottleneck. While every vaccine vial features a standardized barcode rich with product and expiry data, clinical systems often lack complete integration. Even with partial support like selecting a lot number from a predefined list, immunizers must still visually decode labels, manually transcribe complex alphanumeric strings, and verify expiration dates by hand, shifting their focus away from the client.

Manual transcription inevitably degrades data quality. A single transposed digit in a lot number necessitates downstream reconciliation, while an inaccurately recorded expiry date introduces genuine clinical risk. Across the thousands of weekly vaccination encounters happening Canada-wide, these small transcription tasks add up to lost time and more opportunities for error.

To mitigate these challenges, we built VaxLink, an lightweight browser extension that automates vaccine barcode capture directly into existing clinical workflows. VaxLink leverages the Public Health Agency of Canada’s National Vaccine Catalogue, for its comprehensive registry of vaccines and lot numbers, enabling VaxLink to verify and enrich scanned vaccine information with an authoritative open data source.

VaxLink: Vaccine Barcode Automation

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400