Key points
- The Barcelonès, the county around the city, had 5,442 non-hospital health centres in 2025, and 5,287 of them were private.2
- 24.9% of the Barcelonès population held a foreign nationality on 1 January 2025, 596,807 of 2,398,280 people.1
- Catalan law requires consent forms, discharge reports and test reports to be kept for at least fifteen years from discharge.7
- 32.6% of people in Catalonia aged 15 and over used Catalan as their habitual language in 2023, and 46.5% Spanish.4
- wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with your clinic.
Summary
A Barcelona clinic can use AI for notes and patient messages once it holds its Departament de Salut authorisation, keeps clinical documentation for the periods Catalan law sets, and answers to the right data protection authority. With wai, a person at the clinic approves every drafted reply and the clinician signs every note.
The message written in Catalan at half past ten at night gets a reply in Catalan by nine, and the dentist leaves with every treatment note signed. Barcelona's private clinics are many and its patients write in Catalan, Spanish and dozens of other languages.24
Part of the Spanish autorización sanitaria hub, with the framework explained, a readiness checklist and 7 guides.
See it in your clinicThirty minutes on your own patients and doctors.
Request a demoSee a late-night WhatsApp in Catalan become a booked morning appointment with a deposit in euros, in fifteen minutes with a clinician who uses wai daily.
| Body or rule | What it requires | What to ask | How wai meets it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Departament de Salut, authorisation | A permit to operate, renewed for moves, works and changes of service | Does the authorisation list every service offered | Every message, draft, approval and signature logged and exportable |
| Law 21 of 2000, Article 12 | Consent forms and reports kept at least fifteen years from discharge | How long the software keeps signed notes and forms | Signed notes and forms kept in the patient's record and exportable |
| APDCAT, Law 32 of 2010 | Supervises private entities providing public services, for those files | Does any service run under a public contract | Records hosted in Spain, under Spanish rules |
| AEPD | Spanish data protection authority for private processing | Which subprocessors handle patient data | Subprocessors named, with thirty days notice before any change |
The private care market in Barcelona
Idescat counted 5,442 non-hospital health centres in the Barcelonès in 2025, the county formed by Barcelona and its neighbouring cities. Private companies ran 4,991 of them, and the private sector as a whole 5,287, about 97%.2 The province of Barcelona had 41,557 certified doctors in 2024, up from 36,652 in 2020.3
The Barcelonès had 2,398,280 residents on 1 January 2025.1 Of these, 163,264 held a South American nationality, 134,627 an Asian or Oceanian one and 127,562 that of another European Union country.1 Those residents register with a private dentist or doctor of their own, and the first contact is usually a message sent after work.
The rules a clinic in Barcelona works under
Authorisation. Every health centre and service in Catalonia needs an authorisation from the Departament de Salut to operate, whatever its size and whether public or private.6 A new one is needed to open, to move address, to carry out works, to change the owner or the services offered, and to close.6
Clinical records. Catalonia's Law 21 of 2000 places custody of the clinical history with the centre's management, or with the professional who practises alone.7 Consent forms, discharge reports, surgical reports and test reports must be kept with the patient's identification for at least fifteen years from the discharge of each episode of care.7
Data protection. The Autoritat Catalana de Protecció de Dades supervises private entities that provide public services, for the files linked to those services, under Law 32 of 2010.8 A clinic seeing private patients answers to the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos.9
wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with your clinic. wai is compliant with these rules and built for clinics in Barcelona.
The languages Barcelona patients write in
In Idescat's 2023 language survey, 32.6% of people in Catalonia aged 15 and over used Catalan as their habitual language, 46.5% Spanish and 9.4% both.4 Arabic was the first language of 2.6%, about 179,600 people.4 In the metropolitan area, 27.5% named Catalan as their usual language in the 2018 survey.5
wai works in any language, and intake questions can be answered by voice in the patient's own language.11 A reply is drafted in Catalan to a message written in Catalan, and in Spanish to one in Spanish, and a person at the clinic approves it before it goes.
What a demo shows in Barcelona
The demo opens on a dental clinic in Sant Gervasi. At 22:30 a father in Gràcia writes on WhatsApp in Catalan asking for a check-up for his daughter before the school term, and an email in English arrives from a family who moved to Sarrià in the summer. wai reads each dentist's busy times from Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar, offers open times and drafts both replies, each in its own language. The coordinator approves them at 9:00.
The families book on the clinic's own website, earliest time first, and pay a deposit in euros by card or Apple Pay through the clinic's own Stripe account, with a confirmation, a receipt and an intake questionnaire. In the surgery the dentist explains the ambient note, and the signed note and consent form join the clinical history that Catalan law keeps for fifteen years.7
For health systems, insurers and public bodies in Catalonia
Hospital groups, mutual insurers and public bodies in Catalonia can have wai build a system around one pathway, with records hosted in Spain, every note signed by a clinician and data rights fixed in the contract. Patients already carry a digital health card in La Meva Salut, which since April 2026 shows a QR code with standardised national data readable at centres and pharmacies in any region.10 The organisations page sets out how a build starts.
Where to start
First, check the Departament de Salut authorisation covers the services offered today, and apply for a change before adding new ones.6 Second, confirm consent forms and reports stay retrievable for fifteen years after each discharge.7 Third, establish whether any service is provided under a public contract, which brings those files under the APDCAT.8
Fourth, sort last month's messages by language, Catalan, Spanish and others, and by hour, and bring them to a fifteen-minute demo. The guide to after-hours enquiries covers the evening inbox, and prices are published on the pricing page.
Bring last month's messages sorted into Catalan, Spanish and other languages, and see each reply drafted in its own.
Frequently asked questions
Does a Barcelona clinic need a new authorisation to add services?
Yes. The Departament de Salut requires an authorisation to change the services a centre offers, as well as to open, move or carry out works.6
How long must clinical records be kept in Catalonia?
Law 21 of 2000 requires consent forms, discharge reports, surgical reports and test reports to be kept for at least fifteen years from discharge.7
Is our clinic supervised by the APDCAT or the AEPD?
Can patients write to us in Catalan?
Yes. wai works in any language, including Catalan and Spanish, and a person at the clinic approves each reply.11
Where are a Barcelona clinic's records hosted?
wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with your clinic. For a clinic in Barcelona, that is Spain.
Can families book and pay before they arrive?
Yes. The booking page on the clinic's website takes a deposit in euros through the clinic's own Stripe account. The guide to online booking shows the setup.
Sources
- 1Idescat, 2026Statistical Yearbook of Catalonia, population at 1 January by nationality, countiesRead 15 October 2026Read source
- 2Idescat, 2026Statistical Yearbook of Catalonia, non-hospital centres by ownership, countiesRead 15 October 2026Read source
- 3Idescat, from INE, 2025Statistical Yearbook of Catalonia, certified doctors, provincesRead 15 October 2026Read source
- 4Idescat and Ministry of Language Policy, 2025Population aged 15 and over by first, identification and habitual language, Catalonia 2023Read 15 October 2026Read source
- 5Idescat and Direcció General de Política Lingüística, 2019Language uses of the population by linguistic identification with Catalan, areas, 2018Read 15 October 2026Read source
- 6Departament de Salut, Generalitat de CatalunyaAutoritzacions de centres i serveisRead 15 October 2026Read source
- 7Boletín Oficial del Estado, 2001Ley 21/2000, de 29 de diciembre, sobre los derechos de información concernientes a la salud y la autonomía del paciente, y la documentación clínica, consolidated textRead 15 October 2026Read source
- 8Boletín Oficial del Estado, 2010Ley 32/2010, de 1 de octubre, de la Autoridad Catalana de Protección de Datos, consolidated textRead 15 October 2026Read source
- 9AEPDAgencia Española de Protección de Datos, official websiteRead 15 October 2026Read source
- 10Departament de Salut, Generalitat de Catalunya, 2026La Meva Salut actualitza la targeta sanitària digital amb un nou disseny i un codi QR interoperable a tot l'EstatRead 15 October 2026Read source
- 11wai, 2026wai changelog, intake answered by voice in any languageRead 15 October 2026Read source
Every Barcelona message answered in its own language by morning, and every chair filled.
Fifteen minutes with a clinician who uses wai daily, on your own diary and last month's messages. We reply within one working day.
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