Health information systems in Colombia: SISPRO, RIPS, RUAF

System and programme

SISPRO brings the sector's databases together; RIPS record every service delivered and RUAF-ND records births and deaths.

Updated Nov 13, 2026

Key points

RIPS: data on every service or health technology delivered (user, consultations, procedures, emergency care, hospital stays, medicines); since Resolution 2275 of 2023 it is a file that supports the electronic health invoice.
RUAF-ND: the Ministry's application where all births and deaths are reported and certified (Resolution 435 of 2025); the signed certificate underpins civil registration.
Vital statistics: DANE produces the official figures on births and foetal and non-foetal deaths from the records of the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics System.
Law 1438 of 2011: EPSs, providers, territories and other actors must report reliable, timely information; failure to report can be sanctioned.
Where there is no doctor, the statistical medical certificate may be completed and signed by authorised health staff.
Notification of public health events goes through SIVIGILA, coordinated by the INS, and is cross-checked with the other sources during analysis.

What it is

The Integrated Social Protection Information System (SISPRO) is the platform through which the Ministry of Health links and manages the sector's information, under article 112 of Law 1438 of 2011. It is fed by administrative records: RIPS, with every service delivered; RUAF-ND, where births and deaths are certified; the special register of providers (REPS) and enrolment databases, among others. These records produce the indicators used in the ASIS, the Ten-Year Public Health Plan and the assessment of EPSs and territories.

How it is organised

SISPRO: the Ministry's data warehouse with queries, indicators and thematic observatories.
RIPS: generated by the provider, validated through the Ministry's single validation mechanism and attached to the invoice.
RUAF-ND: live birth and death certificates; its variables are endorsed by DANE and the National Civil Registry.
REPS: special register of licensed providers, run by departmental and district health secretariats.
SIVIGILA: notification of public health events.

Worked example

A made-up department certifies 12 500 live births in RUAF-ND in one year.
In the same year, 150 deaths of children under one are certified.
Infant mortality rate = 150 / 12 500 × 1 000 = 12 per 1 000 live births.
An active search finds 25 more infant deaths that had not been certified in the application (under-registration).
Corrected rate = 175 / 12 500 × 1 000 = 14 per 1 000; under-registration hid 2 deaths per 1 000 live births.
Reading: an indicator is only as good as its register; every timely certificate in RUAF-ND counts.

What each system records

Register	What it holds	Who feeds it	Indicators it allows
RIPS	Services and technologies delivered	Providers	Treated morbidity, service use
RUAF-ND	Births and deaths	Doctors and providers	Natality, infant, maternal and cause-specific mortality
SIVIGILA	Public health events	Notifying providers and the INS	Event incidence, outbreaks
REPS	Licensed providers and services	Departmental and district secretariats	Service supply

Markers

SISPRO
RIPS
RUAF-ND
REPS
DANE

In practice

A wrongly coded diagnosis in RIPS changes the morbidity the ASIS will see and may affect payment for the service.
On the death certificate, a clearly written underlying cause (the disease that started the chain of events) is what mortality statistics use.
If the RUAF-ND application is down, the paper contingency form is used and the provider uploads it later (Resolution 435 of 2025).

Reference norms

Law 1438 of 2011, articles 112 to 116: SISPRO, the duty to report and sanctions for not reporting.
Resolution 2275 of 2023: RIPS as support for the electronic health sales invoice; repealed Resolution 3374 of 2000 with a transition, and was amended by Resolution 1884 of 2024.
Resolution 435 of 2025: reporting of vital events (births and deaths) and adoption of the RUAF-ND application.

Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

What are RIPS?

The data set for every health service or technology delivered to a user; they are now generated as a file supporting the electronic health invoice.

Where are births and deaths certified in Colombia?

In the Ministry of Health's RUAF-ND application, adopted by Resolution 435 of 2025; DANE uses these records to produce vital statistics.

Which law gives SISPRO the role of linking the sector's information?

Law 1438 of 2011, article 112.

What does under-registration of infant deaths do to the infant mortality rate?

It underestimates it: deaths are missing from the numerator, so the calculated rate is lower than the true one.

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Connections

← All of epidemiology

Educational content on epidemiological and statistical methods; the examples use made-up numbers to teach the calculation. Not a clinical or legal guide: current Colombian rules are in the official sources.

Sources: Ley 1438 de 2011 (Departamento Administrativo de la Función Pública, Colombia (Gestor Normativo), 2011); Compilación Jurídica SuperSalud - Resolución 2275 de 2023 MSPS (Superintendencia Nacional de Salud, Colombia, 2023); Resolución número 00000435 de 2025 (Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social, Colombia, 2025); DANE - Estadísticas vitales nacimientos y defunciones (Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE), Colombia, 2026).

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Representative model, for educational purposes only.