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The Italian national health care faced a huge challenge as the country was the first in Europe to be severely hit by COVID-19. According to survey conducted in June 2020, ** percent of Italian respondents believed that the system stood up to the challenge, whereas ** percent of respondents believed the opposite. There seemed to be a wide acknowledgment of the need for more resources in public health. Indeed, ** percent of respondents shared the need for more personnel and only percent of respondents reported that the national system did not need any additional funding. Furthermore, ** percent of respondents declared that higher salaries should be granted to medical staff. While the medical staff was put under the spotlight of national media, calls for modernization and strengthening of hospitals were also heard.

Give telemedicine a chance

During the COVID-19 emergency in Italy, many patients in need of care and consulting could not access health services the way they used to in the past. For this reason, the interest in telemedicine to treat patients increased among physicians and General Practitioners (GPs). According to a survey conducted in June 2020, the share of physicians interested in carrying out tele-examinations in the future reached ** percent. General Practitioners (GPs) shared the same interest in the use of telemedicine. According to the same survey, the share of GPs interested in carrying out tele-examinations in the future reached ** percent.

COVID-19 effect on telemedicine

The coronavirus emergency appears to have helped change the attitude towards telemedicine. In general, the restrictions and lockdown implemented exposed the increasing need to use digital tools to communicate with patients, both for GPs and medical specialists. Surveys also showed that for some medical examinations and/or consultations an in-person appointment is not always necessary. This opinion was also shared by both GPs and medical specialists.