Technology helping bring immunization records up to date

Technology is slowly but surely helping Ottawa Public Health whittle down its list of children whose immunization records need updating, as parents trade in the old yellow cards for smart phone apps.

"We've made significant strides in the last few years. It used to be all manual reporting," saidLoretteDupuis, the manager in charge of the public health agency'simmunization program.

Manyparents nowupdate their children's vaccination recordsusingthe CANImmunizeapp, or the online site Immunization Connect Ontario, she said.

"All the public health units are looking for solutions that get away from parents calling and faxing because of what a big burden it is," explained Katherine Atkinson, a PhDstudent who's running theOttawa Hospital mHealth lab that developed the CANImmunize app under Dr. Kumanan Wilson.

Shots for 9 diseases

Children are required to have shots for nine diseases, or risk being suspended from school. For the fourth year in a row, that Ottawa Public Health has undertaken the big task of checking each and every immunization file in its jurisdiction.

This year, 25,781 children, or 17 per cent of those enrolled atOttawa's four school boards,received a first notice in the mail indicating their file needs updating. That's down from 58,740 children during the 2014-15 school year a vast improvement.

• Immunization records still out of date for thousands of students
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Many of those kids have been vaccinated, but simply need to update their files, Dupuis said.

In a typical year, only about one in every 10children who receive a first notice end upbeing suspended 15 weeks later, she said.

The health authority allows for two types of exemptions under theImmunization of School Pupils Act. Parents can fill out a statement of conscience or religious belief or a statement of medical exemption.

Ottawa Public Health is also undertakinga pilot to sendout notices to children in daycare in the coming weeks.

Missed vaccinations won't mean a child can't attend: instead the hope is that by filling in missing vaccinations during the preschool years, there will be less need to send out notices once the child reaches school age.

Shift to doctors on hold

Ontario's former Liberal government hadtaken steps tocut the number of unnecessary suspension notices by passingthe Immunization of School Pupils Act, which would have shifted the onusfor reporting to doctors and nurses by July 1.

• Doug Ford cabinet halts rule on reporting immunizations

However the Progressive Conservative government hit pause on that plan over concerns by the Ontario Medical Association and others that they hadn't been properly consulted.