The Department of Health has installed a digital appointment management system in 185 health centres in the Valencian Community, a tool designed to streamline and organise the care circuit from the patient’s arrival until they are seen in the clinic.
By province, 55 centres in the province of Alicante, 35 in Castellón and 95 in Valencia already have this new digital system.
According to Bernardo Valdivieso, the regional secretary for Planning, Information and Digital Transformation of the Ministry of Health, “it is a new system that allows the flow of patients attending health centres to be optimised and the care itinerary they must follow to be organised. In this way, a better organisation of daily activity in the centres is achieved, which benefits both patients and professionals”.
In this regard, patients with an in-person appointment must register their arrival at the health centre by entering their SIP or NIF at the digital kiosk, which will be located mainly in the lobby. At that time, they will receive a ticket with a seven-digit code, appointment information, time, healthcare service, location of the consultation (floor and building), and waiting room.
The patient is then notified of his or her turn via the screens installed in the waiting rooms, thanks to the code he or she has previously obtained. “This digitalised system allows the waiting times of each patient to be controlled and eases the administrative burden on the centre’s professionals, which has a positive impact on improving the care received by the centre’s users,” said Bernardo Valdivieso.
In addition, after completing the consultation, any patient who wishes to do so may request proof of attendance at the same digital kiosk.
Implementation in the centres in a progressive manner
The implementation of this tool in healthcare centres is being carried out progressively. The aim of the Ministry of Health is that, by the end of 2025, most healthcare centres, specialist centres and hospitals will have this appointment management system. Subsequently, it will be extended to all healthcare centres.
To this end, the Department of Health has made an investment of 10.8 million euros that will allow the full deployment of this system in the health centres of the Valencian Health System. This is an action that is part of the Digital Health Strategy designed to provide the health system with the technological and technical resources that promote quality health care aimed at excellence.
