August 28, 2012
The revolution in Trentino healthcare? It is possible, but not at no cost. The "health decree" of the Monti government, which will go to the council of ministers on Friday, will also have to be applied in the province. The text speaks of cutting the formulary of expensive medicines for which there are equivalent products, of family doctors on duty 24 hours a day, of taxes on fizzy drinks (here there is no shortage of controversy given that critics say that it is only a question of a way, for the State, to raise cash) and funds for health care obtained from the fines imposed on those who sell cigarettes to the under 16s.
The issues are very hot because you write "rationalization" and read "savings". The new regulatory intervention that bears the name of the minister goes in this direction Renato Balduzzi. In Trentino, to cool the enthusiasm in front of the umpteenth novelty from Rome, the doctor will take care of it Paolo Colorio, head of the local section of Fimmg (Italian Federation of General Practitioners). «Everything can be done. Just let them pay. Rationalization, the overall reorganization of the system, we have been proposing for some time. It's about understanding how."
One of the central nodes is precisely the territorial health service 24 hours a day: the idea is to create "maximum medical studies". In practice, these are family doctors forced to join other professionals (in Trentino this is already the case), including paediatricians, medical guards and nurses. The text of the decree does not say so, but one of the objectives is to remove from the shoulders of hospital doctors (especially emergency room doctors) assistance activities that could be managed by "medical doctors".
«Good - comments Colorio, who has a clinic in Povo - but it's not like we can work 24 hours a day. My union proposes a single role: teams of 20 doctors, on smaller territories, who rotate during day. But rationalization is not free." At a national level, this is an investment of 5-6 billion euros.
And in Trentino? «According to calculations: 20-30 million a year. An investment is needed
