High-Security Surface Audit

Browser extension security for clinical portals, EHRs, and healthcare research.

How clinicians, medical students, and researchers can safely use AI Chrome extensions on public biomedical literature (PubMed, NCBI) while protecting PHI on clinical portals.

Best fit

Best for healthcare professionals, medical students, and compliance officers setting browser extension boundaries between PubMed research and EHR portals.

Technical Manifest Audit

Permission specification & risk profile.

Review how Chrome enforces Chrome Site Access Allowlist + Minimal Context in Manifest V3 and how to tell legitimate user-triggered extensions apart from intrusive tools.

Risk level: HigherChrome Site Access Allowlist + Minimal Context

Chrome install-time warning

Restrict via chrome://extensions -> 'On specific sites' or 'On click'

Manifest V3 declaration

// In chrome://extensions -> Vezz me -> Details -> Site access:
// Choose "On click" or allowlist public medical literature domains:
// - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/*
// - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/*

Legitimate uses vs. red flags

What to verify before granting this permission to an AI browser tool.

Legitimate AI reading uses

Explaining clinical trial biostatistics, pharmacology mechanisms, and guidelines on PubMed, PMC, and StatPearls

Red flags to watch for

Highlighting Protected Health Information (PHI / patient identifiers) in an EHR and sending it to consumer AI endpoints without a HIPAA BAA
Extensions that automatically read every open tab in the background while an EHR tab is open

Step-by-step workflow

How to run this workflow in place.

Never highlight Protected Health Information (PHI)

Consumer AI browser extensions should only be used on de-identified educational concepts, medical textbooks, and public clinical studies—never on patient charts.

Scope Chrome site access to public literature domains

In `chrome://extensions`, set site access to 'On click' or allowlist `*.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov` so the extension cannot run on internal hospital portals.

Use Minimal context when looking up a single drug or lab term

Minimal context sends only the highlighted drug name or physiological term without surrounding page text.

Key details

Why this approach works better than switching tabs.

Clean separation between medical study and clinical charting

Medical students and residents frequently have PubMed, UpToDate, and an EHR portal open on the same workstation.

Because Vezz me never scrapes background tabs, having another tab open does not expose it
Using Chrome's built-in site access controls lets you hard-restrict extensions away from internal `.local` or EHR domains
Ideal for unpacking statistical endpoints, biochemical pathways, and board-prep vignettes

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about high-security surface audit.

Is Vezz me a HIPAA Business Associate for patient records?

No. Vezz me is a reading and research assistant for web content, academic literature, and documentation—do not select or submit Protected Health Information (PHI) or patient-identifiable data.

Related workflows & guides

Explore connected pages.

Explain medical studies & PubMed

How to unpack hazard ratios, NNT, and trial methods on PubMed.

Open guide

Vezz me for Medical & Nursing Students

Study workflows for medical school and clinical rotations.

Open guide

All Extension Security & Permissions

Browse the complete directory of extension security & permissions on Vezz me.

View hub directory

Available for Chrome and Firefox

Ready to try this workflow on your own reading?

Install Vezz me free, highlight text on any webpage, and press your customizable shortcut (default: Ctrl+Shift+X or Cmd+Shift+X on Mac) to get an answer right beside the source.

Install free for Chrome Install free for Firefox Compare plans