digital medical prescriptions: this is the news from 2025

specially formulated medical prescriptions digital. From 2025, the Budget Law establishes that medical orders will only be available in computer mode. The novel marks a major change in health system which leads to a process of dematerialization and also, inevitably, to some inconvenience, especially for older people who have to download both the “red” prescriptions issued by the National Health Service and the “white” ones, which still up to the citizens. Here’s what changes.

The measurement

The measurement gives, in fact, a definitive change: after the experimental phase during the pandemic and subsequent expansion, recipes will be mostly digital, with the ability to request a paper copy only if necessary. Article 54 of the Budget Law specifies that from 2025.to strengthen the monitoring of prescribed adequacy as well as to guarantee the complete provision of the electronic health record, all prescriptions paid for by the National Health Service and the territorial services for the health care of seafarers, maritime workers and civil airmen and their dependents of the citizen is made in electronic form“.

Responsibility of the regions

They are not expected sanctions for failure to comply with the law, which gives responsibility to the departments responsibility to monitor the application, collaborating with the competent local authorities. In strict terms, this means that doctors or patients will not be obliged to give up print orders if they request it. However, there are still some problems, especially for the elderly. Although there are no specific obligations or sanctions, the law provides that “the departments, in the performance of their management and control functions, ensure, through the competent authorities for the land, that it is granted” of the measurement. Of course, even if it will still be possible to print recipes, they must always be done in digital form.

Family doctors opinion

For her family doctorsthe situation remains largely unchanged compared to today. On the subject, Sergio Bartoletti, deputy secretary of Fimmg, the Italian Federation of General Practitioners, says “not all prescription drugs can be removed: for example, sleeping pills and tranquilizers are not“. Regarding the problems that the elderly may face, he said: “today we already print the recipes for them when they come to the studio and we will continue to do so if needed. What we want is that all other medical professionals, including dentists, also do digital orders and not make us contract printers by doing the orders to physical instead.“.

Tania Sacchetti, secretary of Spi Cgil, representative of pensioners, clarifies that “the law does not provide for accompanying measures such as the opening of help desks or services to help the elderly or people who have problems with digitization. So there is a risk of introducing an element of social exclusion.”