“The management of data in the SSN and data on citizens’ health status falls under the competence of the Ministry of Health’s General Directorate of Health Care Statistics. The New Health Information System (Nuovo sistema informativo sanitario, NSIS), with its various elements, was introduced in 2003 and is the primary tool for measuring quality, efficiency and appropriateness of care, supporting national and regional governance, monitoring expenditure and guaranteeing the uniform provision of the national benefits package (LEA) (Table 2.2). The NSIS is managed, coordinated and quality-controlled by an intergovernmental body (under the State-Regions Conferences) known as the Control Room. The NSIS has introduced compatibility and coordination among the SSN’s IT systems and records process, as well as managerial aspects and citizens’ health. Today, its information base covers 85% of the services included in the national benefits package. Already incorporated into legislation in 2011, e-prescriptions are now widely adopted for pharmaceuticals but are less utilized for referrals for outpatient visits. Through e-prescriptions, citizens can obtain pharmaceuticals in any pharmacy in Italy. In the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, to reduce in-person visits to doctors’ offices, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Health agreed to extend the validity of e-prescriptions also to medicines not covered by public funds and to psychotropic drugs (Ministero della Salute, 2021b).”

“For the past decade, Italy has been working on the implementation of electronic medical records (Cartella Clinica Elettronica), which are the equivalent to inpatient or outpatient medical records, and on Electronic Health Files (Fascicolo Sanitario Elettronico, FSE) which include all clinical records, preventive diagnostic assessments and all elements of a patient’s health history (Camera dei Deputati, 2018). Implementation, however, remains fragmented for both, despite all regions being actively engaged in their development. Furthermore, jointly with 11 other EU Member States, Italy is part of a project funded by the European Commission for the interoperability of the FSE known as the ‘Deployment of generic cross-border eHealth services in Italy’.”

“In 2016, the Digital Health Agreement was reached to manage and promote the diffusion of eHealth in a coordinated way across the country. The main priorities were the development of electronic medical records (EMRs), telemedicine systems and ICT innovations that could improve patient workflow management and experience. Following this, the Strategy for Digital Growth and Triennial Plan for Public Administration Informatics 2019-2021 was created to guide the digitalisation of the public health system. This Triennial Plan includes initiatives that will further promote the implementation of EMRs, ePrescriptions and telemedicine across regions (Ministry of Health, 2017).

“Regional uptake of EMRs still varies considerably. While no doctor had ever used EMRs in seven regions in 2019, in eight regions more than 80 % of doctors were using them (Figure 24).

“The legal framework first defined the concept of ePrescriptions for medicines and treatments in 2009, and in 2011 set out more specific technical procedures. A series of regulations then further supported the implementation of ePrescriptions. In 2017, 17 of the 20 regional health systems had more than 90 % ePrescription rates.

“In 2014, the National Guidelines for Telemedicine defined general standards to promote the development of telemedicine, but little has been done since to implement telemedicine options.”

Source: OECD/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2019), Italy: Country Health Profile 2019, State of Health in the EU, OECD Publishing, Paris/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels.

Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems in the US and sixteen other nations.

Page last updated Feb. 4, 2023 by Doug McVay, Editor.