Healthcare digitalization in the Valencian Community: what changes in 2026

Key data

Valencian public healthcare enters a new phase of digital transformation with direct consequences for hospital management, primary care and technology providers in the sector. The agreement signed on June 1, 2026 between the Ministry of Health, the Generalitat Valenciana and Red.es —published in the BOE on June 27, 2026— is not a statement of intent: it defines concrete projects, assigns executing roles and aligns with the European Regulation on the European Health Data Space (EU 2025/327).

Red.es acts as the technical executing entity, with proven prior experience in projects such as the Digital Clinical Record and the Interoperable Electronic Prescription. This ensures technical continuity and reduces implementation risk.

What does this regulation establish?

The agreement articulates three main actions within the NHS Digital Health Strategy:

The regulatory framework of reference is EU Regulation 2025/327, which regulates the European Health Data Space and establishes the conditions for secondary use of clinical data. The agreement positions the Valencian Community as a priority implementation territory for these European standards.

Red.es is not a new actor in this ecosystem: it already technically led the Digital Clinical Record and the Interoperable Electronic Prescription, which provides a consolidated technological base on which to build the new services.

Economic and operational impact

The agreement does not publish specific economic amounts in the available summary. However, the operational and business implications are significant:

• Reduction in patient travel: Digital coordination between care levels —especially for pediatric patients with rare diseases— will reduce unnecessary referrals and associated healthcare transport costs.
• Improvement in diagnostic and therapeutic efficiency: Clinical AI tools can reduce diagnosis times and therapeutic errors, with direct impact on medical team productivity.
• Greater interoperability between care levels: Data integration between primary, specialized and hospital care eliminates duplications and reduces the administrative cost of record management.
• Opportunity for technology providers: Technical execution by Red.es opens contracts and tenders for healthtech and data companies in the Valencian Community.
• Alignment with the European health data market: Organizations that adapt their systems to EU Regulation 2025/327 will be better positioned to operate in the European Health Data Space.

Who does it affect?

• Managers and directors of hospitals and health centers in the Valencian Community: will need to adapt clinical information systems to new interoperability standards.
• Healthcare professionals (doctors, pediatricians, rare disease specialists): will have access to new AI tools for diagnostic and therapeutic support.
• Pediatric patients with rare diseases and their families: will benefit from the Únicas Network, which coordinates their care between different centers without the need for repeated travel.
• Regional health administrations: the Generalitat Valenciana assumes an active role as a pilot territory, with budgetary and organizational implications.
• Technology providers and healthtech companies: the agreement generates demand for interoperability solutions, clinical AI and health data management.
• Researchers and health sector entities working with clinical data: the national Data Lake expands access to structured data under the framework of EU Regulation 2025/327.

Practical example

A 7-year-old child diagnosed with a rare disease at a primary care center in Valencia may currently need multiple referrals to reference hospitals, with the travel costs, time and coordination involved for the family and the system.

With the Únicas Network operational, their digital clinical record will be available interoperably between the primary care pediatrician, the hospital specialist and the national reference team. Clinical AI tools can alert the doctor to diagnostic patterns relevant to their case, reducing the time to definitive diagnosis. The national Data Lake also allows researchers to access anonymized data from similar cases, accelerating knowledge about the disease.

The result: fewer trips for the family, better coordination between professionals and greater efficiency in the use of specialized healthcare resources.

What should organizations do now?

1. Review the compatibility of clinical information systems with NHS interoperability standards and EU Regulation 2025/327, especially if you manage patient data in the Valencian Community.
2. Identify if your organization serves pediatric patients with rare diseases and assess how the Únicas Network will affect current referral and coordination protocols.
3. Map tender opportunities if you are a technology provider: Red.es will lead technical execution and will require clinical AI solutions, data management and system connectivity.
4. Train clinical and management teams in the use of AI tools for clinical decision support, anticipating their implementation in care flows.
5. Follow the regulatory development of the European Health Data Space (EU 2025/327) to anticipate compliance obligations regarding the use and transfer of clinical data.

Official source

Consult complete regulation in official source (BOE-A-2026-13979)

Notice: This article is purely informative in nature and does not constitute legal advice. For specific decisions, consult a qualified professional. Source: https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2026-13979