Schillaci: Telemedicine, artificial intelligence, and digital technology for more effective healthcare

The need for a greater balance between hospitals and the community, and the need to implement telemedicine, artificial intelligence, and digitalization to offer better and more effective healthcare, especially to patients who live outside of large cities. During his visit to Tuscany, which included Siena, Grosseto, and Arezzo, Health Minister Orazio Schillaci provided very concrete indications on the future of the Italian healthcare system and addressed the system's most pressing issues.

"It seems crucial to find a balance between hospital and community," Schillaci emphasized. "The fragility of community care was already clearly evident during Covid. Now we have the NRRP funds available, and we must use them wisely, especially to decongest emergency rooms."

Thanks to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), the minister noted, digitalization and telemedicine have been funded, tools destined to transform the healthcare landscape: "I believe they will allow us to make significant progress. The ministry provides guidelines, but it is the Regions that must implement healthcare provision locally. "Italian citizens must have the same healthcare options regardless of their location," he added, "and I believe telemedicine makes this possible. For example, rapid consultations or access to doctors who are experts in a specific condition."

Schillaci then emphasized the planning of medical specialties, highlighting the most serious shortcomings: "Emergency and oncology are the most critical areas. I'm thinking of radiotherapy and pathology, fundamental disciplines that have seen a worrying decline in recent years. With the enabling law presented in September on the reorganization of healthcare professions, we want to revitalize the National Health Service, which is now 47 years old and needs to be revitalized."

The conference "The Healthcare We Would Like in Tuscany" in Arezzo, moderated by regional councilor Gabriele Veneri, was attended by the Minister of Health and numerous industry professionals: Roberto Giotti, president of Federfarma Arezzo; Andrea Rinnovati, a surgeon specializing in general surgery; Giancarlo Sassoli, president of Calcit; Pier Luigi Rossi, governor of the Misericordia of Arezzo; and Claudio Cullurà, territorial secretary of the Nursind union.