The process of modernization of the state, which is being carried out by the Government of the Province of Chubut, materialized the first stage of computerization projects of the Ministry of Health. In this context, an unprecedented agreement was signed for the use and the installation of the PrimeCare System, a modern computer system network, designed for hospitals that are part on the Area Programatica Norte, and whose primary objective is to improve the care of patients.

This new management system, driven by the Secretary of Health and Graciela Di Perna, based on state policies initiated by Governor Mario Das Neves, has as its fundamental principles to ensure equity, quality, efficiency and accessibility to the public health system.

Provide better tools

Within this framework, embodied in the Strategic Plan for Health 2008-2011, is a plan to implement the PrimeCare System in the Hospital Subzonal Puerto Madryn and the hospitals which serve the populations of Puerto Piramides, Telsen, Gan Gan and Gastre. Coming soon will also be the incorporation within the Centers for Primary Health Care (CAPS).

The promoters of this system emphasize that their philosophy is aimed at improving the quality of patient care by providing reliable tools to healthcare providers necessary to be able to diagnose, make treatment and obtain information.

This new technology applied to Healthcare provides among other things, the following advantages: The patients may retain their medical history, even though they were not served locally, while the doctor treating the patient can access the patients medical history from any healthcare delivery location in the Area Programatica Norte.

The system can also immediately store the results of additional complementary studies (eg laboratory). This will benefit rural hospitals and CAPS, who now must wait several days to obtain those results.

It (PrimeCare) also helps to improve health check-ups on children and pregnant women, by improve improving the monitoring and reminding patients who forget to go to the hospital. This will occur through electronic alerts, which can be used even when patients abandon treatments or do not attend the follow-up consultations. Also, the System has a direct connection to the agenda of medical professionals, and will allow patients from the interior, immediate access to the shifts at their main hospital.

(PrimeCare) will even better enable the healthcare system, understand the people cared for because electronic medical records allow better data collection of statistical and epidemiological value.

Virtual Library

On the other hand, (the Program) also aims to improve the monitoring of chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension and as well as others promote the continuous training of personnel since they will have a Virtual Library, which will unify criteria for diagnosis and treatment. Especially for health teams who are in isolated spots.

Likewise, computerization of the entire process of tariffs, which currently is manual, will increase the recovery of benefits for social work.

Prepared on the experimental field

Investigations for the implementation of PrimeCare began three years ago at the Hospital of Puerto Piramides Subzonal and two in Puerto Madryn, and in the latter, in a firm and progressive manner. It should be noted that this is not a closed program, quite the contrary, it was developed and tailored to the needs of the Area Programatica Norte and was based on work experiences of the rural area hospitals, doctors, nurses, staff tariffs, statistics, laboratories and external areas.

While for the moment (the System) will be installed in hospitals, since the Area Programatica Norte announced that very soon it will cover the entire Centre Primary Health Care (CAPS) from the city of Puerto Madryn, for which action is support of the local council, through a commitment made by Mayor Carlos Eliceche, to provide Internet service to these centres.

Program of institutional quality

The PrimeCare (System), is the basic tool for the creation of the Customer Care Unit, based in shaping an area or service that allows positioning the patient / user in the center of management, which is considered to be running before the end of the year. This is one of the most ambitious projects developed by the Hospital Subzonal, which in turn is part of the Institutional Quality Program implemented in June 2007 by the Secretariat of Health of Chubut.

While this is a first step in implementing the PrimeCare (System), the health team currently involved in this ambitious project continues to make progress in what will be a comprehensive computer system highly beneficial to public health.

View original article from El Diario de Madryn.