The Ministry of Health and Red.es have signed an agreement with the Community of Madrid to allocate €12.8 million to intelligent digital services in public healthcare. The initiative will benefit over 155,000 patients annually across 262 centres.
The Ministry of Health, through Red.es, has signed an agreement with the Community of Madrid worth €12.8 million to boost the digitisation of Madrid's public healthcare. The agreement, signed this Wednesday at the Red.es headquarters, aims to develop intelligent digital services, including artificial intelligence, remote monitoring, and advanced analytics.
The investment, which will be executed over a four-year period, will allow the incorporation of new technological tools in 262 public centres across the region. According to the agreement's estimates, more than 155,000 users of Madrid's public healthcare will benefit from these improvements each year.
Remote monitoring and telecare for chronic patients
Among the priority actions of the agreement is the implementation of remote monitoring programmes for chronic conditions. The aim is for patients with diseases such as diabetes or hypertension to be monitored from home, reducing unnecessary trips to health centres.
The Digitalisation Minister, Miguel López-Valverde, explained that these tools will enable healthcare professionals to have better information to anticipate the evolution of a disease or improve clinical reports. "We are opening the door to solutions aimed at complex conditions such as neurological, psychiatric, or rare diseases," he stated.
Telecare is framed within a model of personalised and sustainable care, with a particular emphasis on primary care. Healthcare professionals will receive support to implement these systems, which aim to alleviate the care burden and improve the efficiency of the system.
Artificial intelligence for early diagnosis
The agreement also prioritises the development of AI-based use cases focused on aiding diagnosis and early detection of diseases. Advanced data analytics will allow the identification of patterns and alert about potential conditions before they manifest clinically.
The Minister of Health, Mónica García, highlighted the global dimension of the strategy: "We are mobilising €223 million until 2029 to promote useful, safe, and responsible artificial intelligence, share medical images between autonomous communities, and strengthen a more coordinated, efficient, and equitable healthcare system."
For the residents of Madrid, this will translate into faster and more accurate diagnoses, especially for complex conditions. Health centres in the region, from those in the capital to municipalities in the mountains, will gradually access these tools over the next four years.
Funding from European and national funds
The Madrid project is part of a national strategy amounting to €223 million, announced by the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, at the Conference of Presidents. Of this amount, €139.3 million comes from the FEDER Funds, managed by Red.es, and €84.1 million is the national contribution from the Ministry of Health.
The rollout is linked to the Multi-Regional Operational Programme of Spain (POPE) 2021-2027, designed to promote the digitisation of the healthcare system. It is also part of the 'Health Tech' sectoral agreements signed between both ministries, aimed at consolidating the integration of innovative technologies into the National Health System.
The first practical effects will be felt in primary care, where doctors will have access to improved clinical reports and smart alerts. For chronic patients, remote monitoring will mean a significant change: fewer visits to health centres and more continuous follow-up from home.
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