La tarjeta sanitaria individual servirá para identificar a los ciudadanos en todo el SNS y la UE [The individual health card will indentify citizens in the whole of the SNS (Spanish National Health Service) and in the EU

The Spanish Minister for Health and Consumer Affairs, Ana Pastor, stated in the Congress, on 16 October 2002, that her department was working on an an individual health card which would include basic details about the owner of the card and which would enable them to receive assistance within the Spanish National Health Service as well as in the European Union. She also referred to the European Council in Barcelona, where it was agreed that a European health card should be created, which would facilitate access to health services for any European citizen travelling to another member state.