Shared Medical Record, Personal Health Folder and Health and Social Integrated Care in Catalonia: ICT Services for Integrated Care

Abstract

The Catalan Health System is made up of more than 160 health providers that form an integrated healthcare network of public use. The multiplicity of agents in provision has meant that the centres have their own information systems specifically adapted to their particular needs. For this reason, the Department of Health ICT Strategy decided to introduce a transversal information platform in order to share medical information among the different health centres and professionals and in 2008 set into motion the Shared Medical Record of Catalonia (HC3). One year later, the Personal Health Folder (Cat@Salut La Meva Salut) was implemented to empower the citizenry and make them participants in their medical monitoring and in 2014 saw the introduction of the Health and Social Integrated Care Processes Management System (i-SISS.Cat), which interacts with the different information systems that make up the current map of medical systems to end up giving support to the existing derivations and care routes among the social and health providers of Catalonia. The main aim is to improve citizens’ social and healthcare by means of instruments that improve and facilitate the work of the health professionals on allowing the shared use of the information available among the different care centres and at the same time improve the care process providing information and security to social and healthcare. Shared Medical Record of Catalonia (HC3) and Personal Health Folder (Cat@Salut La Meva Salut) continue evolving and in the last 2 years have changed from being a repository of information to being a strategic instrument of the model of integrated care focused on people.