Rome, 18 May - Provide for the Ministry of Health a national commission for the periodic updating of the health professions. It is the proposal put forward by an amendment of the Pd to the health bill (which also contains rules on drug testing), signed by Donata Lenzi (in the picture), group leader in the Social Affairs Committee in the Chamber.
Lenzi's proposal envisages that, at the request of the president, representatives of the Superior Health Council, scientific societies, organizations representing the most representative health professions at national level and external experts competent in the specific subjects covered may also participate in the meetings of the commission .
Related News: ddl No. 3868 for the reorganization of the health professions
Intervention in the Commission:donated by LENTI (PD) rileva che la legge n. 42 del 1999 presenta alcune lacune ed osserva che, in analogia a quanto previsto per l’aggiornamento dei LEA, sarebbe opportuno prevedere un body which can, at least every two years, recognize the new health professions without the need for legislative intervention ad hoc. He points out that this body could also be useful for sanctioning the passing of some professional figures, also in order to avoid that some students find themselves following courses of study without real outlets in the world of work. [p. 109]
Amendment:
Article 3-BIS.
(Istituzione dell’area delle professioni socio-sanitarie).
1. Per una complessiva tutela della salute intesa come stato di benessere fisico psichico e sociale in applicazione dell’articolo 6 dell’Intesa n. 82/CSR del 10 luglio 2014 concernente il nuovo Patto per la Salute, è istituita l’area delle professioni socio-sanitarie, secondo quanto previsto dall’articolo 3-octies of the legislative decree n. 502 of 1992.
2. In attuazione del comma 1, il Governo è delegato ad individuare i profili professionali necessari mediante uno o più accordi, sanciti in sede di Conferenza permanente per i rapporti tra lo Stato, le regioni e le province autonome di Trento e di Bolzano, ai sensi dell’articolo 4 del decreto legislativo 28 agosto 1997, n. 281, e recepiti con decreti del Presidente della Repubblica, previa deliberazione del Consiglio dei ministri. L’individuazione dei nuovi profili professionali sociosanitari il cui esercizio deve essere riconosciuto su tutto il territorio nazionale, avviene, in considerazione dei fabbisogni connessi agli obiettivi di salute previsti nel Patto per la Salute tra Stato e regioni e nei Piani sanitari e sociosanitari regionali, che non trovano rispondenza in professioni già riconosciute.
3. Gli accordi di cui al comma 1 individuano l’ambito di attività dei profili professionali sociosanitari, definendo le funzioni caratterizzanti evitando parcellizzazioni e sovrapposizioni con le professioni già riconosciute o con le specializzazioni delle stesse.
4. Con successivo accordo stipulato in sede di Conferenza permanente per i rapporti tra lo Stato, le regioni e le province autonome di Trento e di Bolzano sono stabiliti i criteri per il riconoscimento dei titoli equipollenti ai fini dell’esercizio dei profili professionali di cui ai commi precedenti. Con decreto del Ministro dell’istruzione, dell’università e della ricerca, di concerto con il Ministro della salute, sentite le competenti Commissioni parlamentari e acquisito il parere del Consiglio universitario nazionale e del Consiglio superiore di sanità è definito l’ordinamento didattico della formazione dei profili professionali sociosanitari.
5. Sono ricompresi nell’area professionale del presente articolo i preesistenti profili professionali di operatore sociosanitario, delle professioni di assistente sociale, di sociologo e di educatore professionale, modificandone la precedente collocazione normativa.
HEALTHCARE PROFESSION ALSO FOR ISF?
Di fronte ad episodi sempre più frequenti ed incresciosi di malasanità è facile ormai per l’immaginario collettivo individuare nella figura dell’informatore scientifico del farmaco il demone del male e del lucro!
Facile dunque ignorare l’enorme numero di professionisti onesti e corretti, facile per gli utenti far di tutte le erbe un fascio!
Difficile invece per noi informatori, lontani anni luce dai dorati mondi dei sedicenti colleghi, ancora una volta chinar la testa di fronte a tanta corruzione, avendo come unica arma quella “dell’onestà e della coscienza” di cui ormai in pochi si fidano!
The world has changed! The SSN certainly cannot afford to tolerate episodes of corruption that alter "healthy" competition in the pharmaceutical sector (which must be based on quality and price) 
Information on the drug must necessarily have the objective of cultural growth in healthcare professionals and in the patient, but such a need requires a continuous commitment to update. (In)training also requires specific professionals who have the mission of continuously providing data and updates useful for clinical practice. The efficiency of these figures, who can only be Pharmaceutical Representatives, obviously cannot be measured on the basis of the number of drugs that are sold but should be measured on the degree of competence, updating and useful information transmitted to the prescriber and/or healthcare worker.
It could be useful to develop models that help define the minimum requirements necessary to obtain (in)information with authoritative content, which can be easily updated and which allows for a close link with clinical practice.
Despite the limitations of the information provided by companies, it must be recognized that the pharmaceutical industry has made an almost absolute contribution to medical updating in recent years, making up for a macroscopic lack of initiatives on the part of the regions, health and hospital they have adequate funds and do not know how to profitably manage those available.
According to the law, industries have not only financed the organization and participation in their own congresses, but also in congresses of national and international scientific societies, and have not only supplied doctors with propaganda material of their own production, but also scientific material ( texts, treatises, reviews, articles, CD-Roms) of unsuspected origin. However, the imbalance between the poverty of public initiatives and the rich and varied offer of attractive proposals from the pharmaceutical industries could expose doctors to partial, interested and sometimes not useful training for the National Health Service (SSN). In fact, the double mandate of respecting shareholder expectations (market) with commitments to work for the common good (public health) is a premise on which it is difficult to find a correct balance.
However, the balance can be achieved with the multiple information of several pharmaceutical companies. Just as in economics competition lowers prices and increases quality, the multiplicity of information leads to greater overall objectivity. It is therefore necessary to start from a new level, assuring the industry the right to correct information on its products, the fact remains that NHS staff can be guaranteed an update and independent training that meets the needs of health and hospital companies. The fulcrum around which the new legislation will have to revolve is therefore that of separating scientific information from propaganda, so that the latter is easily distinguishable and regards products of free
No one can question the fact that healthcare personnel deserve and need autonomous and independent updating. However, the various initiatives of the Ministry do not in themselves solve the problem of information on medicines. In recent years, efforts have been made to find a better definition of the pathways that have independent drug information as their purpose. Many of the problems listed above will have a greater probability of resolution when it becomes clear that the ethics of information on the drug is linked to the growth of specific professionals, the ISFs.
In this sense, an effort is needed in the public and private sector which involves all operators in the sector, bearing in mind that this type of service must be understood as part of a more comprehensive investment which responds to the patient's right to care. And the patient's interest may coincide with the commercial interest of the pharmaceutical company.
In recent years we have witnessed abuses of all kinds and we have ascertained that neither the Farmindustria Code of Conduct nor AIFA have controlled or sanctioned anything.
An ISF figure outlined in this way needs rigorous control that can only be exercised by a specific person professional order posto “sotto l’alta vigilanza del Ministero della Salute” che da un lato tuteli gli Iscritti e dall’altro, proprio attraverso la difesa della professionalità, tuteli la collettività.
Redazione Fedaiisf – 18 maggio 2017