Madrid and Sermas join the BIFAP pharmacoepidemiological research program

The Community of Madrid and the Madrid Health Service (Sermas) have formalized their accession to the agreement between the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS) and the Autonomous Community of Cantabria for the consolidation and development of the BIFAP program (Database for Pharmacoepidemiological Research in the Public Sector). The act of accession, signed on October 7, 2026, is published in the Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid (BOCM) number 263, dated November 2, 2026, within the announcements section of the Ministry of Health, with the official reference BOCM-20261102-9.

The text published in the BOCM is an announcement from Sermas providing public notice of the act of accession signed through two different administrative channels: the Ministry of Digitalization, within the scope of its competencies, and the public health entity, in the exercise of the competencies assigned to it for health and pharmaceutical management.

Full accession to the previously published agreement

The reference agreement is not renegotiated: the Community of Madrid and Sermas adhere to the agreement signed between the AEMPS and Cantabria, published in the Official State Gazette number 294, dated December 8, 2025.

According to the second section of the announcement, both institutions “express their will to expressly adhere to each and every one of the clauses of the aforementioned agreement,” assuming the obligations derived therefrom and subject to all its clauses. The text specifies the scope of this formula: all mentions that the agreement makes regarding the Autonomous Community of Cantabria are also understood, with this accession, to refer to the Community of Madrid and Sermas.

The object of the agreement is the consolidation and development of BIFAP, defined in the announcement itself as a pharmacoepidemiological research database.

The signatories and their authorizations

The act of accession is signed in a single electronic copy by two officials:

• Miguel López-Valverde Argüeso, Minister of Digitalization, appointed by Decree 42/2023, of June 23, by the President of the Community of Madrid.
• Laura Gutiérrez Barreno, Vice-Minister of Health and Director General of Sermas, appointed via Decree 257/2023, of November 22, by the Governing Council.

The announcement details the regulations that authorize each signatory:

• For the Counselor of Digitalization, article 41.a) of Law 1/1983, of December 13, on the Government and Administration of the Community of Madrid, and article 3.2.a) of Decree 48/2019, of June 10, which regulates the conventional activity of the Community of Madrid.
• For the Director General of Sermas, article 1.2 of Decree 246/2023, of October 4, on the management structure of the entity; article 23.2.a) of Decree 24/2008, of April 3, on the legal regime and operation of Sermas; and the Agreement of the Board of Directors of Sermas of December 30, 2024, regarding the delegation of powers in matters of agreements.

A monitoring commission with two Madrid-based memberships

The announcement specifies the composition that will correspond to the Community of Madrid in the monitoring commission provided for in the seventh clause of the agreement. It will be composed of:

• The head of the competent management body in matters of pharmaceutical provision management and control, or the person to whom they delegate.
• The head of the competent management body in matters of digitalization and health information systems, or the person to whom they delegate.

The double designation reflects the distribution of competencies for the accession: the pharmaceutical and health management side falls to Sermas, while digitalization and information systems correspond to the Counseling of Digitalization, the department headed by the signatory of the act on behalf of the regional Government.

Relevance

The incorporation of Madrid’s healthcare system into BIFAP is important for healthcare professionals, pharmacists, and drug-use research teams: the announcement formally binds the Community of Madrid and Sermas to the program’s governance framework, with assumed obligations and a monitoring commission that already has its representation profiles designated. The publication in the BOCM number 263, of November 2, 2026, provides official publicity to the act and sets its reference date: October 7, 2026.

Source: Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid, no. 263, of November 2, 2026, section I.D (Announcements, Counseling of Health, Madrid Health Service), pp. 41-42 (official reference: BOCM-20261102-9).