“Family medicine has tried to optimize the timing of identifying patients to be vaccinated first against Covid, within the age range indicated by the vaccination plan. We have thus created an algorithm that offers the doctor an additional tool. Based on all the guidelines and other elements, the general practitioner asked the computer scientists to create the algorithm we are already using. ” Tommasa Maio, national secretary of the Fimmg continuity of care, speaking at the online meeting “Protecting yourself from shingles, an opportunity not to be missed. When innovation meets prevention“, organized by Gsk Italia.
“The algorithm – explained Maio – took months to run in. And at the moment it is used by two thousand doctors (but the number is increasing) who, in the running-in phase, have made all the necessary corrections. The need arose. from the fact that, unlike the other vaccinations, for the anti-Covid vaccination, very broad categories to be vaccinated have been indicated as a priority. within the same category, there are people who do not have any pathology and some, instead, who have maybe two or three serious ones. Given the lack of vaccines, the ethical problem arose: who to give the dose first in the same age group?“.
Therefore, “criteria had to be identified for a fair answer, starting from the scientific assumption. From here we tried to implement the algorithm. It is clear, however, that it is only a tool used by the doctor and that does not replace the choice of clinical. It will be very useful when, we hope soon, we will find ourselves managing on adults, no longer 3 but 4 vaccines. In this context, and on the basis of the algorithm, we are able to speed up and rationalize the times of identification but also of contact with the patient, from sending the appointment to booking the recall “, concluded Maio.