Montevideo, 20 November 2024. Uruguay is making significant progress in improving the quality of care for pregnant women, especially those in vulnerable situations, through the Perinatal Information System (SIP).
At an event held on 18 November, in the presence of the country's Vice President, Beatriz Argimón; the Minister of Social Development, Alejandro Sciarra; and the Undersecretary of Public Health, José Luis Satdjian, an agreement was signed for the exchange of information between the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) and the Ministry of Social Development (MIDES).
The interoperability between the SIP+ (web version of the SIP used by the MSP) and the Integrated Information System of the Social Area (SIIAS) of the MIDES will facilitate pregnant women's access to more services, activating other benefits, including those outside the health sector, such as social protection. When a woman starts prenatal care, this information will automatically reach MIDES. Furthermore, the data available in the SIIAS will complement the information from the MSP, allowing the application of statistical models to estimate the vulnerability of the women receiving care.
In this way, economic benefits and other benefits intended for their care will be activated in a timely manner, avoiding delays in the management of rights.
During the event, Vice President Argimón said that this is a ‘historic’ event and referred to the importance of having data in real time and the possibility of knowing how to interpret it properly in order to develop public policies that have an impact on the most vulnerable population.
The coordinator of the SIP, Giselle Tomasso, recalled that since January 2024, the use of the SIP+ is mandatory for all health providers, public and private, by ordinance of the MSP. ‘This has allowed Uruguay to explore new possibilities to enhance the use of SIP for women. It has proven to be a robust and reliable system with many possibilities. We hope that this initiative will also be an example for other countries in the region that are using SIP+’.
More about SIP+
The SIP is a PAHO standard for the clinical registration of care in health services for women, pregnancy, childbirth and newborns, created by the Latin American Centre for Perinatology - Women's and Reproductive Health (CAP/WR).
SIP+ is the web version of the SIP and integrates computer tools for the analysis of the data recorded in the clinical modules. These tools allow the generation of automatic reports with a single click and in real time of complex indicators (demographics, burden of disease, interventions and outcomes), facilitating decision-making and improving population health.
Through the SIP, it is possible to have evidence-based information to evaluate health contexts, analyse and generate policies, conduct research and make decisions in favour of the health and development of women and newborns.
More information at https://www.sipplus.org/
