The document describes the broken process for renewing a health card online in Ontario. It details 10 steps of clicking links that lead to "page not found" errors before eventually finding the correct form. Other issues noted are inconsistent links provided to the form by the government agency via social media and search engines. The conclusion criticizes the poorly managed website that makes it difficult for people to access essential health card renewal information and forms online.

1. Renewing a Health Card in Ontario
Why the online process is broken

2. Step 1:
I Google “how to renew a health card.” Two links appear that look relevant to my
search, and I trust that I’m headed in the right direction because the government
should understand Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and have the most relevant
links appear for my search.

3. Step 2:
I click on the top link and come to this page. So far, so good…

4. Step 3:
I want to fill out the forms and make sure I have the right documentation before I
visit the ServiceOntario centre. But when I try to click on the links in steps 2 and 3…

5. Step 4:
I am told “Page Not Found” – the links are dead.

6. Step 5:
I return to the previous page and click on the ServiceOntario link.

7. Step 6:
I come to this page, and click on the “questions and answers page” because it says
I’ll be able to figure out “what documents to bring.”

8. Step 7:
Hmm. I’m still looking to renew a Health Card - for the form and for the proof of
identity documents. I look through the list of FAQs, and I don’t see anything related
specifically to a renewal, like what I found on the previous site. The first question,
“How do I get an Ontario health card?” is the closest, so I take my chances.

9. Step 8:
Okay, same information as what I found on the previous site. Sigh. But likely I’m on
the right page now, and the links to the form and document list will work…

10. Step 9:
I get to a page about the original documents form.

11. Step 10:
Success! The form!

12. Other issues
• When I contacted ServiceOntario via Twitter, I
was told the links on the original page were fixed,
when in fact I was sent a different link. The links
in the page that comes up when one searches
Google are still broken.
– Link ServiceOntario sent where form links work:
http://health.gov.on.ca/en/public/publications/ohip/r
enew.aspx
– Link from Google where form links are broken:
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/public/pub/ohip
/renew.html

13. Other issues, cont’d…
• To make matters worse, when I clicked “Complete a Health
Card Renewal” in step 2 again, I came to a page with a list of
links to the form that were all broken! I tweeted
ServiceOntario again, and in the course of writing this, they
came back online.
http://health.gov.on.ca/en/publi
c/forms/ohip_fm.aspx

14. Conclusion
• The web site isn’t well managed. This isn’t the first time I had this
issue. I went looking for this information a month ago and the links
were dead then, and I thought it was an anomaly.
• It shouldn’t have taken me 10 click-throughs/steps, plus all of the
aggravation and uncertainty, to find the information I need. I
assume this is a pretty standard request that should be more front
and centre.
• SEO needs to be properly administered to ensure Canadians are
getting the right links when they search for the information.
• I am a university educated communications specialist and my
husband is an environmental engineer. We went through this
process to renew our 16-year-old son’s Health Card. If we couldn’t
figure it out, how could an elderly person who isn’t familiar with the
internet, or a young person, or someone with mediocre to poor
literacy skills?