Card-iac arrest: Manitoba rollout of digital health cards stumbles

Hours-long waits, glitches and convoluted systems have been symptoms of downloading a digital Manitoba health card.

A flurry of Manitobans have expressed frustration — online, in their homes — as they attempt to take their health cards virtual.

“There’s tons of problems for something that just has one feature right now,” said accountant Kirk Smith.

He tried to get a digital health card Wednesday. The provincial government launched the online application Monday.

By Friday, Smith said he still didn’t have his new document. He’d put his quest on pause following glitches: “I’m pretty busy with work, so it’s low on the list of things to do.”

He’d downloaded the Manitoba Wallet app, which acts as a holder of the virtual identification card. Separately, he went through a Manitoba government website to verify his personal health data.

Once information is filled out on the website, users are notified it could take 24 hours before they receive an email with a decision about their request for a digital health card.

Approved Manitobans return to the provincial government website to download their card. They receive a QR code and a unique link which, once clicked, will lead to a digital health card landing in their Manitoba Wallet app.

For Smith, problems occurred at the QR code stage.

“If I go back on the website, it says that it’s waiting to be authorized in the app,” he said. “There’s nothing in the app.”

He keeps a picture of his physical card on his phone. Having a digital card is “a good direction to go,” he said, adding he believes there could’ve been more testing before the new system unrolled.

Questions to the provincial government about how many complaints it’s received since the launch and how it piloted the digital health card system weren’t answered by end of day Friday.

“Some applicants may have experienced delays in the digital health card download process,” a spokesperson wrote in a statement. “Improvements to that process are already being implemented.”

As of Friday afternoon, 15,285 digital health cards had been issued, the spokesperson wrote. Just under 300 applications were being processed.

Most applications are completed within 30 minutes, but some may take up to 24 hours, the spokesperson said — submitted information must match records in the health registry.

Celine Latulipe, a computer scientist, said she “eventually” got her digital health card to work. She called the setup “tedious, poorly designed, broken in some places and error-prone.”

Small glitches can have an “outsized impact” on trust, especially when being used in time-sensitive situations such as health care, added fellow University of Manitoba computer science Prof. Houda El Mimouni.

The process hasn’t been a strain for everyone.

Tanja Schubert was recounting her experience of waiting five hours earlier this week to receive her digital health card; a nearby customer at GameKnight Games mused that her own encounter was smooth.

The success of a digital credential can be measured by how dependable it is in high-stakes moments, whether it’s easy to set up and use for a wide range of Manitobans, if it’s supported with clear recovery options when something goes wrong, and if owners are transparent about privacy and data usage, El Mimouni wrote in an email.

The provincial government said upon launching that Manitobans would be able to choose what data they share. Obtaining a digital health card is optional.

“It’s very forward thinking,” said John Anderson, a University of Manitoba computer science professor.

Keeping the health card on a Manitoba-specific platform rather than something run by a foreign entity is a plus, Anderson said.

The provincial government said it won’t know when someone accesses their digital wallet unless it’s used at a government agency. Using the Manitoba Wallet app allows the province to maintain control of Manitobans’ health information without relying on outside proprietors, a government spokesperson said.

The province spent $1.9 million developing the app. It could house digital versions of other records, such as fishing licences, in the future, Premier Wab Kinew said earlier this week.

“It’s a familiar pattern for this NDP government. They live for the sound bite, but fail on the solutions,” Kathleen Cook, health critic for the Progressive Conservatives, wrote in a statement about digital health card troubles.

The Manitoba Wallet app is found in Apple’s App Store and Google Play.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com