The results of the project “Recommendations for the application of digital medicine in the models of taking care of people with chronic rheumatological and dermatological pathologies”, created by Crea Sanità, the Center for Applied Economic Research in Health, were presented this morning in Rome , with the unconditional contribution of Ucb.
The National Chronicity Plan (Pnc) – explains a note released by the Center – among the fundamental objectives, has that of keeping the sick person at home as much as possible and preventing or in any case reducing the risk of institutionalization, without making all the burden of patient care. Ministerial Decree 77 and Mission 6 of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Pnrr) confirm this choice as fundamental for the modernization of the National Health Service (NHS). The Pnc and the Pnrr underline the strategic importance of the use of digital health models, techniques and tools in the management of chronicity. Even if the pandemic has speeded up digital innovation processes, the diffusion of these tools remains uneven throughout the country and with different solutions. In particular – observe the experts of Crea Sanità – a discipline useful for the inclusion of digital solutions in the processes of taking charge (Diagnostic Therapeutic Assistance Pathways, Pdta) has not yet been consolidated.
The research project responds to this need which, with the collaboration of a board of experts (made up of representatives of six patient associations – Apmarr, Anmar, Amrer, Apiafco and Anap – as well as scientific companies and associations and representatives of specialists and healthcare operators – such as Adoi, Card, Fimmg, Fnopi, Sidemast, Sifo, Sir, Salutequità – has produced a proposal for a recommendation for the inclusion of digital medicine in Pdtas, developing a case study on two important areas of chronicity: dermatology and rheumatology The document – continues the note – analyzes the different phases of the patient’s journey, defining for each one the opportunities for using digital solutions, linking them to the profile of the patients for whom they are considered advisable; the enabling factors have also been highlighted for each solution to be considered for their effective and efficient inclusion within healthcare organizations.
In particular, the project highlighted how digitization must guarantee structured communication between professionals and patients, as well as between the different professionals involved in the different areas of assistance. The electronic health record (ESF) also represents the tool responsible for sharing the documentation, but it is believed that it is necessary to also contain the services performed by patients outside the NHS and that the documentation produced can also be viewed in different regional realities from those of the patient’s residence.
The local implementation of the proposed recommendations requires – the experts recall – overcoming problems related to the dimensioning of professionals, their training on the use of digital technologies, the remuneration recognized to professionals for the new services, and also the reorganization of working methods, in the light of the need for integration between professionals of the different care settings and between them and patients. Ultimately, the research – concludes the note – has made it possible to highlight how the inclusion of digital solutions in Pdtas must comply with both clinical/welfare and economic/technological effectiveness and efficiency needs, having also identified some key-indicators that can be adopted at a regional level or sub-regional (wide area, healthcare company, etc.) to monitor the diffusion of digital healthcare solutions.