The project is part of the Digital Agenda 2020-2030 that considers the implementation of the Electronic Health Record (EHR).
El Salvador launched a Digital Agenda consisting of concrete actions in different axes in order to unify citizens for the country development through the innovation and application of ICT.
The EHR project is considered within the Digital Identity axis in the Person category and is defined as "the design, creation and implementation of the EHR, integrated into the Citizen Record, which allows the exchange and secure consultation of information between all authorized public and private health centers", according to the document posted by the Innovation Secretariat.
The EHR is expected to begin its first applications later this year or early next year. On the other hand, the Digital Agenda includes connecting the 14 departments capitals’, including connection in hospitals and clinics.
Fabrizio Mena, undersecretary of innovation noted that "what we want, is an integration of health services so that the patients or citizens, no matter if they go to Social Security, whether they go to a public hospital or even a private clinic in the future, can pass and no longer have to be repeating over and over what your allergies are, what your conditions are."
In this way, doctors would consult their patients' information and apply appropriate treatment regardless of whether the user was treated by another clinic or doctor previously.
The initiative is also supported by the Ministry of Health (MINSAL) and the Salvadoran Social Security Institute (ISSS). The Under-Secretary for Innovation also indicated that the ISSS already has a single health record, however, it was not integrated with the other services.
