Consolidating medication data in Catalonia

As part of its strategy to develop an integrated digital health platform, Catalonia is taking a major step towards transforming its healthcare system by consolidating medication data.

Moving from individual paper prescriptions, the region is adopting a unique therapeutic plan that spans primary, secondary, and community care.

This plan is built around six critical pillars:

• Integrated health management: A cohesive approach that unites patient data across various healthcare settings to streamline decision-making and improve care coordination.
• Electronic prescription and dispensation: A fully digital solution to ensure the safe, accurate, and efficient prescription and dispensation of medications, reducing errors and simplifying the process for both healthcare providers and patients.
• Safety and rational drug use: Enhancing patient safety by ensuring medications are prescribed based on evidence and clinical best practices, promoting rational use to prevent over-prescription or misuse.
• Coordination between healthcare professionals: Seamless communication between doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare providers to ensure that patients receive holistic, well-informed care.
• Accessibility to medical and pharmaceutical services: Improving access to healthcare by making it easier for patients to receive medical and pharmaceutical services, regardless of their location.
• Personal Health Card and single medication plan: The introduction of a personal health card that integrates all medication-related data into a single plan, allowing patients and healthcare providers to have a unified view of treatment.

At our Better Meds community event in April, Jordi Piera Jimenez, Director of the Digital Health Strategy Office at the Catalan Health Service (CatSalut), provided an update on Catalonia’s ongoing work to put people at the forefront of integrated care. His presentation highlighted the following key developments:

1. Enhancing the relationship with clinical information: One of the most forward-thinking initiatives is linking prescribed treatments to patient-reported outcomes. This patient-centered approach ensures that care is tailored based on real-life feedback and experiences, ultimately driving better health results.
2. Extending the system beyond traditional settings: Catalonia is extending its system to reach not only hospital outpatients and in-hospital patients but also the private sector. This move ensures that medication management and healthcare delivery are uniform across both public and private healthcare services, enhancing continuity of care.
3. Broadening the scope of the system to include allied health services: The therapeutic plan is expanding to encompass areas like nursing, dietetics, nutrition, odontology, and podiatry. This holistic approach acknowledges the importance of various healthcare disciplines in contributing to patient well-being.
4. Aligning national and cross-sector interoperability: Catalonia is working towards national interoperability to integrate with the dispensation systems used by state public mutual societies and private healthcare providers. This ensures smooth transitions of care and medication management across different sectors of healthcare, simplifying processes for patients who move between public and private systems.
5. Integrating with the European Medicines Verification System and EU-IPS: To further enhance patient safety, Catalonia is integrating with the European Medicines Verification System (EMVS) and adopting EU-IPS (International Patient Summary) standards. These integrations will ensure that medications dispensed in the region are verified for authenticity and meet European safety standards while also enabling the secure exchange of medication-related data across borders.
6. Improving accessibility with mobile devices: With the growing reliance on technology, the system is being optimised for mobile accessibility. This development empowers both patients and healthcare professionals to manage and access essential medication data anytime, anywhere, fostering more flexible and responsive healthcare interactions.

These ambitious initiatives reflect Catalonia’s commitment to building a truly integrated, patient-centred healthcare system. By leveraging digital tools and fostering cross-sector collaboration, the region is paving the way for a more seamless, transparent, and effective medication management system—one that improves both clinical outcomes and the patient experience.

This topic was presented at our community event in April. For insight into other interesting topics we discussed, you can download the report below.