Telemedicine has finally entered the agendas of decision-makers, including at the political level. It has been understood how fundamental it is to guarantee continuity of care, including at home, and integration between hospital and territory. In the Recovery Plan, €9 billion has been earmarked for proximity networks, facilities and Telemedicine, and of this, €1 billion is specifically dedicated to Telemedicine. In December 2020, the State-Regions Conference approved the national indications on Telemedicine, which define the rules for the remote provision of certain healthcare services and the related pricing logic. In April 2022, the Ministry of Health published the organisational guidelines for the ‘Digital Model for the implementation of home care’, home care will also be delivered through Telemedicine tools.
The Osservatorio Sanità Digitale (Digital Health Observatory) of the Politecnico di Milano provides interesting data to better understand the phenomenon. Before the emergency, the level of use of telemedicine was just over 10%, during the emergency it exceeded 30% for many applications. The most widely used Telemedicine service is Tele-consultation with specialist doctors (47% of specialists and 39% of GPs), which attracts the interest of 8 out of 10 doctors. It is followed, in terms of use during emergencies, by Tele-consultation (39% of specialists and 39% of GPs) and Tele-monitoring (28% and 43%).
Telemedicine services, on the other hand, are still little used by patients, not so much because of lack of interest, but because of the still limited offer.
Patients declare that the most frequently used way of remotely monitoring their state of health is a simple telephone call or a video call to check in (23%). Much less used are the various structured telemedicine services, such as tele-visits with the specialist (8%), tele-rehabilitation (6%) or tele-monitoring of clinical parameters (4%). On all services, a very high interest of patients emerges, with percentages close to 90%, for Telemonitoring and Tele-visiting with the specialist. The Observatory also tried to hypothesise how many visits and check-ups would be possible remotely through digital solutions. The specialist doctors believe that once the pandemic is over, it will be possible to organise approximately 20 per cent of the check-ups with the 206 chronic patients remotely. General Practitioners believe that in the future, contacts with chronic patients could be made remotely in 50% of the cases (through telephone contact, via chat/email and in Tele-visits). Patients also seem to be open to remote visits and check-ups, with percentages exceeding 40% for some pathologies. The provision of Telemedicine services for the chronically ill would make it possible to achieve significant cost savings for the community (patients and their caregivers), which often remain hidden. In fact, research shows that 35% of patients are accompanied by a caregiver to their visits. An expense that entails economic, environmental and health costs for the community. The survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Consumers’ Forum enriches the picture, with data that tell the story of citizens’ expectations.
The expansion of digital healthcare is well received by citizens, especially by those with good digital skills. The expansion of the use of telemedicine envisaged by the PNRR is also favourably received by the citizens surveyed. The search for personal interaction remains something people seek when they need care and assistance. The lack of familiarity with digital platforms also hinders the use of digital services. The simplest services have become part of everyday habits, while telemedicine services are used by a limited number of citizens.