Andalucía starts to roll out new health cards in the region

The Junta de Andalucía has started to roll out its new cards which are available to people entitled to use the public health system throughout the region.

About 240,000 new cards have already been produced after a contract was signed with a new supplier in May, however there has been a delay in issuing them. "The mandatory procedures of the public procurement procedure have caused a delay of several months in the production of cards," the regional health ministry confirmed.

Below, SUR has highlighted the most important features of the new cards and why the old cards needed changing:

What is health card for?

It is the document that identifies each person to the Andalusian Health Service. According to the Junta de Andalucía, it is used to facilitate access to electronic medical records and to prescribe medicines at the pharmacy.

What does the new card look like, and what are the changes?

The only major new feature of the new health card is a new dual interface chip. "The Andalusian Health Service has been a pioneer in the incorporation of a chip in the health card for years. The production of these has given way to dual interface technology that uses both contact and contactless functionality," the Junta pointed out.

The Junta announced last December that the issue of the cards was going out to tender with a base budget of 1,357,620 euros including IVA (Spain's sales tax), and an estimated value of 2,356,200 euros. The contract with the distributor of the cards was signed last May.

I still have an old card: what should I do?

The new cards will be sent to people who apply for them (due to birth or change of address) or to people who require a new card due to damage or loss. However, those who still have an old-style health card need not worry at all. Existing cards will remain valid without any need to change them.