The Spanish Patients Forum (FEP) has conveyed to the Ministry of Health, within the framework of the draft Royal Decree on international vaccination, the need for Spain to have a homogeneous service portfolio and a common calendar that ensures the same access to vaccines and prophylaxis, regardless of the autonomous community in which each person resides.
According to the FEP, this catalog should be unique for the entire country, based on the best available scientific evidence and adjusted to the recommendations of the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and the World Health Organization (WHO). The forum also demands periodic reviews of the system and the publication of indicators that allow for the evaluation of territorial equity in this area.
In its analysis, the organization emphasizes that international vaccination in Spain is at a moment of regulatory change that could allow for overcoming the current "dispersed" model among communities and moving towards a "simpler scheme for the citizen."
With this scenario, the FEP has sent a set of proposals to Health so that the future Royal Decree on international vaccination reinforces equity, coordination between territories, and the digitalization of the involved services.
The forum acknowledges the effort of the Ministry and agrees on the importance of comprehensively organizing an activity that it considers key for public health. However, it warns that the current system is based on very disparate procedures, information channels, and care devices, with little interoperability among them and with unequal degrees of digitalization.
Among its contributions, the FEP suggests that international vaccination centers be integrated into the General Registry of Centers, Services, and Health Establishments (REGCESS) and that the State Registry of Health Professionals (REPS) collect specific data on the professionals authorized to intervene in vaccination or international health. In its view, this would facilitate citizens clearly identifying which resources to turn to and which personnel are qualified to provide specialized advice.
A single digital window for international vaccination
A good part of the FEP proposals focus on digital transformation. The entity suggests the establishment of a National Contact Point on vaccination, coordinated by the State Agency for Public Health (AESAP), which concentrates all the necessary information in a single portal before embarking on a trip.
The intention is to replace the current fragmentation of informational resources with a single entry point that provides scientifically validated content and legal certainty. "This instrument would also allow for a quicker response to a potential health crisis and strengthen the response to misinformation about vaccines," they explain from the forum.
The FEP also proposes that this portal not be limited to offering information. Among its proposals is the creation of a common state system for the request of international vaccination appointments, which harmonizes the different procedures currently applied by the autonomous communities.
According to the organization, a tool of this type would allow for knowledge of waiting times and expedite referrals between territories when necessary, preventing access to vaccination from being conditioned by saturation or the lesser availability of centers in a particular community. From the same digital space, one could consult the vaccination history, download certificates in electronic format, and receive alerts or reminders.
The forum also advocates for providing greater legal certainty to the process of acquiring vaccines for travelers that are not marketed in Spain. Currently, this circuit is structured through the Medicines Service in Special Situations and through operational protocols linked to different management assignments. For the FEP, the new regulation represents an opportunity to consolidate this procedure within a "known and stable" regulatory framework.