“In response to geographical barriers in accessing some specialised services and improve care continuity, some autonomous communities have promoted a greater use of telehealth, particularly for patients with chronic conditions. For example, in Galicia, a telehealth service has been developed to help patients with COPD manage their condition, while at the same time enhancing the provision of routine primary care services. In the Basque Country, a telehealth service has been developed for patients with heart failure to support self-management and monitor physiological measurements that are reviewed remotely by specialists (United4Health, 2016).”
Source: OECD/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2019), Spain: Country Health Profile 2019, State of Health in the EU, OECD Publishing, Paris/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels.
“With regard to patient information, Law 19/2013 on transparency, access to public information and good governance, and its general application to public institutions, clarified and improved access rights to public information (updating existing regulation), facilitating ulterior developments, for example in the case of data sharing. On the other hand, specific to the health sector, RDL 9/2011 aiming at increasing coordination and cohesion across the SNS [Spanish National Health Service], as well as improving quality, defined the timeline for the implementation of an interoperable Health Identity Card throughout the territory, the data-sharing mechanisms for electronic medical records (EMRs), and the widespread use of electronic prescriptions. Currently at an advanced stage of implementation, the so-called patients’ Abridged EMR is accessible in 15 of the 17 ACs (MSSSI, 2016f ).
“Details on what type of information patients have access to and how accessible the information is are summarized in Table 2.2. Usually, the information is placed in accessible institutional websites, using static documents and interactive tools. Lastly, information to foreign patients who do not speak any of the official languages in Spain (see Section 1.1, Geography and sociodemography) may benefit from the mediation and interpretation services provided by third parties (for example, not-for-profit organizations, nongovernmental organizations or municipalities).”
Source: Bernal-Delgado E, García-Armesto S, Oliva J, Sánchez Martínez FI, Repullo JR, PeñaLongobardo LM, Ridao-López M, Hernández-Quevedo C. Spain: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2018;20(2):1–179.
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Page last updated Nov. 16, 2023 by Doug McVay, Editor.
