The development of social security policies and programmes raises the need for their coordination to enhance effectiveness as well as to prevent the fragmentation of social policies, programmes and services. Although there are expected benefits, implementing coordinated programmes poses significant technical challenges, which increase the complexities and costs of projects and hinder the achievement of such initiatives. Some of the main difficulties are related to system and information integration (Interoperability) as well as the ability to enforce data security and privacy regulations. To help meet such challenges, the International Social Security Association (ISSA) has developed Guidelines on Information and Communication Technology to support the integrated ICT‐based implementation of social programmes. This article reviews existing scenarios, discusses the benefits and challenges of coordinated approaches, and offers models to show how to implement such types of systems while applying the ISSA Guidelines.

The evolution of technology in clinical environments increases the level of precision in patient care, as well as optimizes the management of healthcare centers. However, the need to have information systems that are more sophisticated and require interoperability between them means that a great deal of effort has to be made to assume the maintenance and scalability of the systems. Therefore, a proposal for a standard information model for the integration of clinical systems in a healthcare environment is presented. In order to elaborate the model, an analysis of the functional needs of the different clinical areas of a clinical environment is made based on the information systems that make up the system and application map. An evaluation of the technical requirements and the technological solutions that can satisfy these requirements is also carried out, delving into the different technical alternatives that allow the exchange of information. From the analysis carried out, an integration model capable of covering the needs that arise in clinical environments with a high level of complexity is obtained, also allowing the continuous evolution of the systems that make up the model, along with the incorporation of new systems. Although the model presented may fully cover the expectations raised, the rapid evolution in terms of both functional needs and technical aspects makes it necessary to continuously monitor and evaluate the model, in order to adapt it to the needs that arise.

The application of ICT is enabling the implementation of increasingly comprehensive social security systems throughout the world as well as the transformation of social security services. In particular, the so-called data-driven innovation enables social security institutions to improve products, processes and organisational methods. In this line, social security institutions are progressively applying emerging technologies, such as Analytics, Big Data, and Artificial Intelligence. While the pairing of analytics and big data allows for the performing of sophisticated analyses on increasingly large databases, Artificial Intelligence enables for automating processes and assisting staff in tasks requiring human decisions. However, the application of such emerging data-driven technologies brings with it many challenges, mainly the complexities of combining the adoption of not fully tested technologies with the required stability of critical operational processes and differences in the application of development processes. This paper addresses these issues and presents an overview of emerging data-driven technologies and their current application in social security institutions. It also presents guidelines supporting the application of data-driven technologies in social security developed by the International Social Security Association (ISSA).

No abstract