Primary care centers in the Chilean commune of Coquimbo will continue to incorporate eHealth solutions to provide greater security, transparency and convenience for professionals and public health system users.
The Mayor of Coquimbo, Christian Galleguillos, has signed an agreement making the municipality the host of a pilot scheme for the issue of electronic medical leave certificates at Family Health Centers.
“At the moment, in order to be able to acquire a new booklet of medical leave certificates, professionals have to completely use up the previous booklet. The purchase of a new booklet takes approximately 5 days, and if users go to the establishment during this period, they won’t be able to get a certificate for their consult and might have problems at work as they won’t have any official certificate affirming that they require rest for their condition, a situation that will be avoided with the issue of electronic medical leave certificates,” explained Sandra Larenas, Head of the Health Department.
In 2011 Family Health Centers implemented digital health records – through the Rayén computer system – and the initiative to implement electronic medical leave certificates is part of a greater program designed to increase professionals’ access to patient information.
“Sometimes users don’t see the effect of these advances. Before, to get an appointment, users had to get their files, if the document wasn’t available, they weren’t treated or treatment was postponed because the professional didn’t have the history, which was inconvenient for patients and reduced the quality of care. With the implementation of the electronic health records we have taken a large step forward to benefit out users,” said Larenas.
The commune of Coquimbo has become a pioneer in the implementation of electronic medical leave certificates because it had the computer support necessary to operate the system.
“We are taking a major step forward in modernizing the municipal health system to benefit users in the commune,” Galleguillos concluded.
Source: Municipio de Coquimbo
