[Planning the action: principal fields of action and operational tools]

The Health, Social Health and Public Healthcare Map of Catalonia is an instrument that provides criteria for putting into operation the policies and strategies defined by the Health Plan and the Master Plans and Strategic Plans of the Department of Health. The effectiveness of the Map is determined by its capacity to help in decision making at the different organisational and management levels. The principal operational fields are, operations planning, territorial healthcare governments and cross-sector relationships. The tools used when setting ideas and strategic proposals included the healthcare infrastructure investment plan, the assignation of resources and the purchasing of health and social-health services aimed fundamentally at integrated purchasing, as well as an evaluation approach geared towards this objective, the information system and the applied research.