Once again this year, Akinox participated in the Colloque et Gala Informatique Santé 2021 held at the Saint-Hyacinthe Convention Centre, which brings together health and social services managers and professionals interested in major innovative information technology projects in the network. During the Gala, which concluded a day of information-packed conferences, Akinox was awarded with the e-health Solution of the Year Award: Québec City and Akinox, precursors of the vaccine passport – A Québec, Canadian and International Outreach. Its work was also recognized through the Innovative Clinical Team of the Year Award won by the CISSSO-CUSM’s thoracic surgery team, which Akinox is fortunate enough to support with its technological aspects.
The jury’s choice was based on the innovative nature of the solution on the Québec, Canadian and international scene, but also on the usefulness of the vaccine passport in the technological management of the pandemic in Québec. In the context of the health emergency and the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, Akinox has developed a complete innovative technological solution based on a QR code system, a portal for issuing electronic proofs of vaccination and two reader applications, VaxiCode and VaxiCode Verif, hosted on Google Play and Apple Store, which serve as a vaccine passport for the Government of Québec. The vaccine passport has been used in Québec since September 1, 2021. Its purpose is to encourage the revival of economic and social activities, while providing a safe environment for adequately protected individuals who may wish to pursue non-essential, but potentially more risky activities such as festivals and going to bars and restaurants.
The QR code developed by Akinox is generated when the vaccine is registered in the Québec Vaccination Registry and is part of the proof of vaccination that the citizen can download from a link included in the email from the Ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux that he receives after his vaccination. This unique QR code for each individual contains a government digital signature that makes it forgery-proof and contains only the personal information necessary to validate protection status. This QR code can also be downloaded from the electronic proof of vaccination issuance portal, designed by Akinox in the Spring 2021. The VaxiCode application for citizens allows them to save and store this QR code and that of their family in an electronic wallet to facilitate its presentation to merchants. Merchants have access to the VaxiCode Verif reader application, which allows them to scan the QR code, quickly interpret its content and confirm a person’s immunization status.
With these solutions developed in Québec in record time, Québec was a pioneer in the implementation of a technological standard that is in line with the best international practices and is comparable to the work done in many other countries: European Union, Switzerland, Israel, some American states (New York, California, Louisiana). As a result, in June 2021, Québec was the first high-volume issuer of vaccine proofing the open SMART Health Card format with more than 5.7 million already issued while all other issuers were at less than 1 million. The technological challenge was great since the vaccine passport had to allow citizens to be holders of their own data, to operate without an Internet connection while ensuring data verification, to be used internationally and to respect privacy (no tracking, no geolocation…).
As of September 13, 2021, less than 15 days after its launch, nearly 4 million downloads of the VaxiCode application had already been completed, setting a record in Canada as the number one application in Canada’s app stores (Apple and Google) for several weeks, beating even Facebook, TikTok, and representing nearly 90% of those vaccinated. For the VaxiCode Verifreader app, almost 450,000 downloads had occurred on the Apple Store and Google Play combined and it was the first app for home use to recognize vaccine evidence from other countries in both SHC and EU-DCC formats (now over 56 countries). By mid-November 2021, more than 6,659,447 people in Québec have received their digital vaccination certificate, and 98.8% of them have been fully vaccinated.
In addition to the province of Québec, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador have acquired this simple, effective, secure and internationally proven Québec technology solution.
The Akinox team would like to thank the organization Le point en santé et services sociaux, organizer of this event, for this wonderful recognition as well as all the collaborators who made this innovative solution possible, notably the Ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux and the Institut National de la Santé Publique.
“We are very proud to have won the e-health solution of the year award for our vaccine passport solution, in collaboration with the MSSS, the INSPQ and our partners, at the Gala Informatique Santé 2021. It is an honor to have been able to contribute to the Ministry of Health and Social Services’ first mobile application for the general public and to innovate together in record time to help fight the pandemic while facilitating a safe recovery of economic activity. This recognition is the result of all the concerted efforts put into the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic for over a year and a half.”
Alexander Dahl, President and Founder of Akinox.
We would also like to congratulate the entire thoracic surgery team at CISSSO and the McGill University Health Centre, which we have been fortunate enough to support in their technological transformation and which won the Innovative Clinical Team Award, proving the effectiveness of a clinical and technological partnership for the betterment of both users and healthcare professionals.
“It is an honor to be able to collaborate with such an innovative team that is committed to improving processes for the betterment of its stakeholders and patients”
Alexander Dahl, President and Founder of Akinox.
Very close to the concerns of managers and professionals, the Colloque Informatique Santé aims primarily to put forward the best ways to adopt the best practices in terms of project deployment in the network. It also promotes these good practices that can be implemented in the field, leading to concrete results in the short and medium term. This symposium is intended for managers and professionals interested in major innovative information technology (IT) projects in the health and social services network. Each year’s event aims to propose practice models that can be deployed in the context of rapid digital transformation, changes that are expected in the coming months and even years.
As part of the Colloque Informatique Santé, the Health and Social Services IT Awards Gala’s mission is to highlight the major achievements in information technology (IT) in the health and social services network, as well as the involvement of its private sector partners, with the goal of improving the efficiency of Québec’s health system.
Akinox is your essential technology partner in the field of digital health. Our innovative and proven integrated solutions enable healthcare institutions to rethink and transform their entire care processes. Akinox has proven to be essential in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic for Québec and other provinces (vaccine passport, automated tracking of cases and contacts, self-assessment of symptoms…). Other Akinox solutions include Agir-Tôt (a provincial platform for the diagnosis of early childhood disorders), inter-facility patient management process automation and virtual care.
For more information about Akinox and our solutions, visit www.akinox.com, email us at info@akinox.com or call us at 1 (800) 996-9196.