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Álvaro Soto
Madrid
Tuesday, 24 September 2024, 17:32
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Spain is preparing to roll out its new unified health cards which could soon be in people's wallets and even on their mobile phones in digital form.
This week, government ministers gave the green light, including the final approval on characteristics that will make the card accessible to people with disabilities, as well as technical characteristics such as the magnetic strip and the QR code.
Minister for health Mónica García pointed out the new format "will speed up the development of digital services between the health services of the regions" to avoid incompatibilities such as the cards working with a chip in one region and with a magnetic strip in another. Doctors and health professionals will be able to access patient data from another region with the new format.
Going to primary care (or to a pharmacy) when you are not in your own region is not the easiest experience in the world for patients or health care providers at the moment. If the computer systems of the regions concerned are not compatible, if the regional governments do not have bilateral health agreements, or even if the doctors do not show an interest that goes far beyond what is required by mere professionalism, the patient may leave the consultation frustrated, which explains why many sick people, when on holiday, decide to delay their visit to the doctor until they return home.
All Spanish regions must issue their new cards within 18 months, as stipulated in the Royal Decree, which allows the holder to have their identification in physical and digital format or only in digital format. The ministry of health also pointed out the new digital format, similar to transport passes or bank cards that already work on smartphones, "will avoid the need to carry the physical card to access healthcare at any public health system centre and will reduce the costs associated with printing and distributing physical cards".
The card will incorporate "basic common data" such as the data all cards will have: the region in which it has been issued, public health system and health card labels, a personal identification code, first names and surnames of the holder, a unique personal identification code of the and an identification code of the issuing health administration. The regions will also be able to decide whether the cards also include the holder's DNI national identity number, social security number, health emergency telephone number and a photograph of the user.
The change in card also aims to increase accessibility for people with disabilities. In the lower right-hand corner of all physical health cards, the Braille characters of the initials of the individual health card for people with visual impairment will be included.
According to the ministry of health, "the classic health card already identifies the patient in any device of the public health system and in any pharmacy in Spain", but the reality is more complex. So far, emergency care is offered without problems, but not, depending on the region, primary care, where doctors need to know the patient's history and do not always have access to it. Within a year and a half, this obstacle may be overcome.
"The single card is a demand that has taken too long to arrive. It makes no sense that there are 17 different cards, and not one that serves for the entire national system," said José Polo, president of the Spanish society of primary care doctors (Semergen). "The health card should allow all doctors to access patients' medical records," he added.
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