From the first trimester of 2014 it will be possible to implement an administration platform for all administrative and economic procedures governed by the Law of Dependency, part of the first phase of the data integration process, it was announced by the head of Health and Social Policy Luis Alfonso Hernández Carrón, during his report on the SEPAD centers for the Parliament of Extremadura.
The administration platform, which will integrate data from SES and SEPAD into a single electronic health record, will include the electronic digital management of all requests, evaluations, fund allocations and payments. It will also provide one of the key elements for their subsequent complete integration; the unique identification of the user, based on the same database as that used by the Extremadura Health Service, so that the same patient will not be identified differently between one system and another.
“It might seem a basic factor, but up until now this information has been processed on Excel or Access spreadsheets which differ even depending on how the technician processes the file”, said Hernández Carrón.
He also said that the estimated investment for the first phase will be 415 million euros, although, as he explained, the application will not cost the public treasury anything because it is financed by the Technology Fund.
Second and Third Phase
The head of the Health and Social Policy Department also announced that the second phase of the process will consist of incorporating the economic-administrative computer management platform for healthcare and social centers for disabled people and elders (all under the single identification system).
The third and last phase will integrate both systems to achieve the complete unification of patients under the health and social policy sphere and thus have a single health and social electronic record for each patient.
As Hernández Carrón concluded, the set up of this platform will facilitate the exchange of knowledge of users’ health records between SES and SEPAD professionals, and allow for better coordinated and better quality care and management for public service users.
Source: Government of Extremadura
