The Map of Tendencies 2013 diagnoses the good state of health of ICTs applied to Catalan healthcare
22 de gener de 2014
Since 2006, Fundació TicSalut has each year drawn up the Map of Tendencies for the Department of Health. This study is organised into three parts:
- The ICT and Health Survey, which connects data concerning the implementation and use of ICTs in the Catalan public health system (SISCAT). For the second year running it was attended by 100% of the Catalan supplier entities.
- The International Tendency Report, which sums up the world initiatives in the area of health into five key concepts to be observed from Catalonia and to be adapted to the territory.
- The Monographic Study, dedicated in 2013 to unattended health forms of healthcare, given by the Avedis Donabedian-UAB Foundation.
During the Map of Tendencies 2013, the key objectives of Fundació TicSalut for 2014 were revealed, which are aligned with the strategy of the Catalonia Health Plan 2011-2015, and include the development of the Master Plan of Health and Social Mobility, with the support of the Mobile World Capital Barcelona Foundation.
The Secretary for Public Health, Antoni Mateu, explained the coming steps in mHealth in Catalonia and, more specifically, the forthcoming launch of an app of vaccinations in Catalonia, coinciding with the February Mobile World Congress in Barcelona:
In this 2014, Fundació TicSalut will also work on introducing a new form of ICT governance based on consensus, joint responsibility and health provider respect for ICT management independence. A platform will be developed for exchanging information based on world standards, available to the whole sector in order to facilitate healthcare continuity. The Manager for Planning, Purchasing and Assessment of Healthcare Services of the Catalan Health Service (Servei Català de la Salut), Àlex Guarga, referred to this:
“Interoperability allows us to work with Europe and the world.” The General Secretary for Health, Roser Fernàndez, stressed the importance of this work promoted by the Fundació TicSalut. During her intervention, she insisted that, “This is a joint project which is worthwhile, above all because it overcomes resistances to changing attitudes and aptitudes.”
Furthermore, another large theme at the meeting of the Map of Tendencies 2013 was the incorporation of the Department of Social Welfare and Family on the Fundació TicSalut Board of Governors. In the words of the Director of TicSalut and General Coordinator of ICTs, Dr. Francesc García Cuyàs, “This is a responsibility, but also a great opportunity.” The Director General of the Catalan Institute of Healthcare and Social Services (ICASS), Carmela Fortuny, presented the idea of sharing circuits and optimising resources along with the Department of Health in order to be more efficient:
Along this line of work, the Director of the Program of Prevention and Attention to Chronic Illness in Catalonia, Albert Ledesma, stressed the priority of promoting people’s involvement in looking after their own health using ICTs, such as the Shared Social and Healthcare Medical Record:
This will also be a year in which giving value to the information produced by the healthcare system in order to achieve returns for citizens will be a leading question for the public health system in Catalonia. The Director of the Agency of Healthcare Quality and Assessment of Catalonia (AQuAS), Josep M. Argimon, explained this in his talk:
In the final instance, Fundació TicSalut reiterated its commitment to continue working along with the TecnoCampus Mataró-Maresme to create an ICT and health cluster of companies from the sector in this location. The President of the TecnoCampus Foundation and Councillor for Economic Promotion and Innovation of Mataró City Hall, Miquel Rey, insisted on the will, both of the Parc and of the City Hall, to collaborate to create, enhance and hold onto talent and innovation in the city along with TicSalut:
