Healthcare in the palm of your hand
Patients can check appointments in health centres and with specialists
RESIDENTS of Valencia region can now benefit from improvements made by the regional health department to its website and mobile device application for patients.
The health department assured it has been working for some time on an ambitious digital transformation plan.
This has involved various discussions with associations of doctors and patients ‘in order to take all their points of view and needs into account’, and also to identify ‘which activities will bring value and help to cut bureaucracy’.
The most commonly consulted sections of its website have been gathered together on one page, called the patient portal: www.san.gva.es/web/ portal-del-paciente.
The objective was to make all these healthcare related services and information much more visible and accessible in order to save people journeys and time.
The page has various sections, for example checking upcoming appointments in health centres, and for the first time those with specialists as well.
Another new feature has information about video appointments, these being the temporary solution implemented due to Covid-19 in order to improve communication with patients and reduce personal contact.
There is direct access to the SIP card section, which has quick and simple procedures to register, order a replacement
card, modify contact details and indicate a preferred method of communication for those with hearing difficulties.
Other functions include accessing users’ online health history and answering frequently asked questions in the section ‘Tu SAIP responde’.
The app, GVA+Salut is already used by over 1,100,000 people and is available for Android, iOS and Huawei operating systems. It also now offers new functions and a new form of access which it promises is completely secure.
User identification via the SIP health card number has
been replaced with two new methods ‘to guarantee secure protection of personal details against any possible fraudulent use’, according to the regional secretary for health efficiency, Concha Andrés.
Access is granted either by scanning the bar code on the SIP card or using a ‘Cl@ve’ digital certificate - which must be obtained from town halls.
If the website is accessed using the barcode, the app now grants access to check any appointments with primary attention or specialists.
Another important addition is access to which pharmaceutical treatments have been prescribed without having to scan the prescription, and moreover which prescriptions have been dispensed and when the next ones are pending.
The app enables users to monitor surgery on a member of their family by scanning a QR code that will be provided by those health centres which have this service, as it is being implemented gradually
It is also possible to access the Covid vaccination section with a single click (see p15).
Another new feature, if the app is accessed using a Cl@ve, is to update contact details for the user’s SIP card and access their online clinical history (HSE).
It is important to note that when any device with the old version of the app is updated, the users will have to be added again.
“We continue to simplify the procedures which the public have to complete for health-related matters,” said Sra Andrés.
“At the same time, we are bringing a simple and safe method for health matters, one which avoids unnecessary journeys and any kinds of barriers, including those which have affected us due to situations like Covid-19.”
Some users have reported teething troubles with the app, including inability to scan the barcode and connection problems, so some patience may be required at first.