With the growing digitization of the economy and with the objective of facilitate the relationship between the Portuguese and public services, last July, the new measures of Simplex (the so-called Simplex 2022) were announced. The Simplex 2022 aims, as the Secretary of State for Digitalization and Administrative Modernization, not only to simplify, but in fact to adapt effectively more and more the Public Administration to the Portuguese and not the other way around. There are 48 new measures announced in areas such as education, health, social security, mobility, among others. Some of these measures will come into force later this year, and the rest in the course of 2023.
Areas Covered by Simplex 2022
O Simplex 2022 covers the following areas:Agriculture and FoodEnvironment and Climate ActionScience, Technology and Higher EducationCultureNational DefenseDigitalization and Administrative ModernizationFinanceInfrastructures and HousingJusticeParliamentary AffairsForeign AffairsPresidency, HealthLabor, Solidarity and Social Security
Measures contemplated in Simplex 2022
In total, by the end of 2023, 48 measures come into force. Some in areas with which the Portuguese have a greater connection and, therefore, can feel a greater impact.
Health Measures
in Health are six to measures announced by the government. Three of implementation by the end of September and the remaining by the end of the year.Until the end of September 2022:SNS24 branch will be extended to the entire national territory. It is a space for accessing and providing digital and tele-health services, but it will work in municipalities, elderly people’s homes, prisons or educational centers. , thus facilitating contact with the user;Access to the SNS will be omnichannelthat is, it can be face-to-face, telephone and digital, through the portal and the Service app Telemonit SNS24, a telemonitoring service for people with heart failure, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or who are hospitalized at home. Thus, its clinical follow-up becomes possible, avoiding hospital admission.Until the end of the yearThe response capacity of the service lines of the primary health units will be expanded. Thus, an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) service will be installed, which will not only reduce unanswered calls but also effectively direct calls to the area desired by the user with reduced waiting time. All requests for complementary diagnostic and therapeutic means will be dematerialized, thus covering all areas of examination. The requests will be available for consultation by the user on the SNS Portal and on the SNS24 app, facilitating their use.
Measures at Work, Solidarity and Social Security
Also in this area, there are 6 Simplex 2022 measures that the Government has announced and that should be implemented by the end of the year:Payment of medicines at the time for those who benefit from the Solidarity Complement for the Elderly. That is, the reimbursement of medicines occurs at the time of purchase, making it necessary to request reimbursement at the health center.E-certificate of pregnancy – that is, automatic verification of the special condition for granting prenatal family allowance, avoiding the sending of documentation by the pregnant woman.Social pension online – thus, it will be possible not only to simulate the retirement pension for those who do not meet the minimum of 15 years of discounts, but also to apply for allocation through Direct Social Security. of warranty period, concession period and amount of the installment. But in case of refusal, you will also have access to the grounds for not awarding the benefit. Greater connection to the Employment and Vocational Training Institute in all employment-related services, including virtual interview rooms, distance training, but also the possibility to prove that you are actively searching for a job without having to go to the IEFP. Creation for companies of the possibility of integrating their computer systems with the Social Security platform, thus simplifying the communication of the beginning and end of the employment relationship of their employees workersRead more: Prenatal family allowance: What is it and how to get this benefit
Measures in Higher Education
In this area, there are five measures. These will be implemented by the end of the second quarter of 2023 and aimed at the simplification and dematerialization of:Application process for access to Higher Education for special regimes;Process of award of scholarships for higher education students;Free and free access to a dataset in the field of higher education;Process of research and development funding from FCT, IAPMEI, ANI and AICEP Access and permanence in higher education for foreign citizens through the availability of digital qualification certificates (Via Verde International Student).Also read: Reinforcement and automatic allocation of scholarships in higher education
Measures in the area of Digitization and Administrative Modernization
In order to facilitate the daily lives of the Portuguese, there are six other Simplex 2022 measures, with four to be implemented by the end of the year. But the remaining two will only come into effect at the end of the second quarter of 2023.Until the end of the year 2022creation of Driver’s Desk – which will allow not only to automatically renew the driving license but also to consult administrative offensesCreation of the Territory Counter – so that individuals and companies have access to information and a service for issuing opinions and licenses.Sending electronic invoicesto citizens and companies that opt for this means, thus replacing the physical version of the invoice.Simplifying change of address – with a single request for a change of address, the address will be updated in all services that need it, facilitating, for example, your children’s enrollment in school or access to health care. Also read: I don’t have a family doctor. What can I do to have a doctor and appointments? By the end of the second quarter of 2023 You will no longer have to go to a counter to activate the Digital Mobile Key, signature certificates and citizen card authentication. This is because the activation will be done by biometric authentication. But additionally, in a test regime, the possibility of renewing the citizen’s card in an app will also be evaluated. Simplex Licensing which aims to eliminate licences, authorizations but also other procedures that create burdens for companies in the areas of the environment; urbanism and land use planning; industry, commerce and services and agriculture.
Measures in Culture
By the end of March 2023 they will be:Expanded the contents of the National Digital Library for the general public, teaching and research with the digitization, for example, of old and not physically accessible documentation Digitized 100 Portuguese films within the scope of the project Cinememory with a view to greater dissemination of Portuguese cinema not only in Portugal but also abroad.
Other measures of Simplex 2022
But in the remaining areas, the following measures stand out:Migrant Desk – development of the MyCNAIM portal to support transactional services but which will have multilingual service, by ’email’, telephone or videoconference” until the end of the last quarter of the year (Parliamentary Affairs area)Line of Funds – creation of this line that will provide an integrated multichannel service to support those who interact with European funds (Presidency area)Sending alerts within the scope of Simplified Business Informationas a way of avoiding the unofficial establishment of an administrative dissolution procedure due to lack of accountability (Area of Justice) Read also: What to expect in the coming months?