Santa Maria Hospital Moves Its Three ERs to New IT Systems on Nov. 7
Lisbon's Hospital de Santa Maria switched its central, pediatric and obstetric emergency rooms to the SONHO V2 and SClínico systems. What it changes.
Hospital de Santa Maria in Lisbon began replacing the computer systems in its emergency departments on Saturday, Nov. 7. The first phase covers the central emergency room, the pediatric emergency room and the obstetrics and gynecology emergency room, according to the regional outlet Diário do Distrito.
The hospital said it added staff on the day of the switch so the three emergency units could keep working normally while the new software went in. The aim of the project is to update how the hospital handles clinical and administrative work and to make its services more efficient.
Which systems Santa Maria is adopting
The Unidade Local de Saúde de Santa Maria (ULSSM, the local health unit that runs the hospital) confirmed that the change brings in two programs: SONHO V2 and SClínico. Both already run in other hospitals of the Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS, Portugal’s national health service).
The project covers both clinical and administrative management. With both programs in place, Santa Maria’s emergency departments move onto tools already used elsewhere in the SNS.
Technical teams oversaw the installation together with the Serviços Partilhados do Ministério da Saúde (the Health Ministry’s shared services body).
What it means for patients in Lisbon
The switch touches three emergency services at once: general, pediatric and obstetric care. Any IT changeover in an emergency department carries a risk of slower registration or delays while staff adjust, which is why the hospital put extra teams on duty for the installation day.
According to the hospital, the new systems should make it easier for information to move between clinical and administrative services. Hospital officials see the operation as a necessary step in bringing its technology up to date. The expected gains include less paperwork, simpler admission and discharge, better access to patients’ clinical information, and smoother communication within the SNS. A shared platform means records from Santa Maria’s emergency departments are built in the same software used elsewhere in the national health service.
For foreign residents and other patients, the visible change at the front desk should be limited to the registration and discharge process. The hospital has not announced any change to how patients access the emergency rooms, and the reinforced teams were meant to keep waiting and treatment running as usual during the installation.
A first phase, with more to follow
The ULSSM describes the emergency departments as the first phase of a wider modernization of the hospital’s clinical and administrative management. It has not published dates for later phases or said which other services will move to the new systems next.
The hospital frames the project as part of an effort to make its services more efficient for patients and staff. How well the switch works in practice will show in the coming weeks, as the three emergency units run fully on SONHO V2 and SClínico.
Source: Diário do Distrito
