Rome (Antonio Di Filippo) – The budget law being examined by the Chamber of Deputies, in the part concerning public health, dictates indications for a better use of available resources and warns those who still intend to "pack" scams against the state. Of taxpaying citizens. News also on drugs of primary importance for patients and rumors concerning oncology, especially in the direction of reducing the gap between the North and the South of the country.
The National Health Service will be able to count on three-year funding from the State equal to 96,040 billion euros for 2007, 99,082 billion for 2008 and 102,285 for 2009. To these sums must be added a further 1,000 million euros for 2007, 850 million for 2008 and 700 million for 2009, which will form a fund transitional reserved for Regions that have recorded a significant deficit and that have signed a specific agreement with the Ministries of Health and the Economy for expenditure control. For 2007 the Regions involved will be Lazio, Campania, Abruzzo, Molise, Sicily, Liguria and Sardinia.
The Government has decided to combat medical malpractice by providing in the economic-financial document that pharmacists and other operators who have committed fraud against the NHS are expelled from the system through the withdrawal of the pharmacy license for the former and the termination of the employment relationship with the National Health Service for the latter.
Greater responsibility also for citizens to avoid waste in healthcare spending: patients will have to pay the entire cost of the service in the event of failure to collect the results of visits or diagnostic tests.
On the medicines front, the price of self-medication and class C medicines not subject to medical prescription is maintained at the 2006 price level for the whole of 2007. Class C medicines subject to medical prescription, on the other hand, may undergo price increases only within the limits of the Istat cost-of-living index.
An attempt is also made to reduce the gap between the healthcare facilities of the North and those of the South. Allocated 3 billion euros to increase the fund for the extraordinary investment program in healthcare construction, identifying precise intervention priorities and in particular: increase in radiodiagnostic and radiotherapy units in southern Italy; technological innovation of the NHS structures; overcoming the structural gap between the north and south of the country; development of IT services for local health authorities and hospitals; modernization of public dental facilities.
From "iFatti.com"
The National Health Service will be able to count on three-year funding from the State equal to 96,040 billion euros for 2007, 99,082 billion for 2008 and 102,285 for 2009. To these sums must be added a further 1,000 million euros for 2007, 850 million for 2008 and 700 million for 2009, which will form a fund transitional reserved for Regions that have recorded a significant deficit and that have signed a specific agreement with the Ministries of Health and the Economy for expenditure control. For 2007 the Regions involved will be Lazio, Campania, Abruzzo, Molise, Sicily, Liguria and Sardinia.
The Government has decided to combat medical malpractice by providing in the economic-financial document that pharmacists and other operators who have committed fraud against the NHS are expelled from the system through the withdrawal of the pharmacy license for the former and the termination of the employment relationship with the National Health Service for the latter.
Greater responsibility also for citizens to avoid waste in healthcare spending: patients will have to pay the entire cost of the service in the event of failure to collect the results of visits or diagnostic tests.
On the medicines front, the price of self-medication and class C medicines not subject to medical prescription is maintained at the 2006 price level for the whole of 2007. Class C medicines subject to medical prescription, on the other hand, may undergo price increases only within the limits of the Istat cost-of-living index.
An attempt is also made to reduce the gap between the healthcare facilities of the North and those of the South. Allocated 3 billion euros to increase the fund for the extraordinary investment program in healthcare construction, identifying precise intervention priorities and in particular: increase in radiodiagnostic and radiotherapy units in southern Italy; technological innovation of the NHS structures; overcoming the structural gap between the north and south of the country; development of IT services for local health authorities and hospitals; modernization of public dental facilities.
From "iFatti.com"
