The Electronic Health Record 2.0 (Fse 2.0) represents one of the main innovations introduced by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Pnrr) in the field of digital health. It cost 1.3 billion euros, and the Italian government aims to make this tool a point of reference for citizens and professionals of the National Health Service (NHS).
With the inclusion of the data of 60 million Italians, except for those who decide to refuse by June 30, this digital ecosystem promises to save time and improve the management of healthcare.
The government has ensured that four basic services will be available this year: document consultation, booking of services, choice and revocation of the family doctor and payment of services via Pago Pa or App Io.
By 2026, Italy will be the first country with a complete digital healthcare system
In Rome, Alessio Butti, undersecretary of the Presidency of the Council for Innovation, and Marcello Gemmato, undersecretary of Health, presented the new logo of the ESF 2.0. During the event, Butti declared that by 2026 Italy will be the first country in Europe to have a complete digital healthcare system, accessible to all citizens. This system will include information such as hospital discharge letters, emergency room reports, laboratory reports and electronic prescriptions, ensuring privacy protection.
ESF 2.0 improves emergency management, allowing doctors to Quickly access patient information, such as allergies and medications in use. Centralizing health information reduces the risk of medical errors due to incomplete information. The new ESF data includes digital documents such as electronic prescriptions, medical records and online reports.
The Electronic Health Record 2.0 is preparing to be further enhanced with new contents and services, such as therapeutic plans and the declaration of intent to donate organs and tissues, with a view to continuous evolution and improvement of Italian digital healthcare.
The technology behind the change
The element that allows Fse 2.0 to work is the technological adaptation of the software used to produce health documents. As of June 2023, only 23% of installations had been upgraded. Today, this percentage has risen to 50%, with the aim of reaching the full coverage by summer 2024. This adaptation involves over a thousand public and private healthcare facilities, with thousands more in the implementation phase.
The culture of the health record
The adoption of the ESF does not only depend on the technology, but also on the culture of the users, be they citizens or healthcare professionals. According to data from the Digital Health Observatory of the School of Management of the Polytechnic of Milan, 35% of specialist doctors and 48% of family doctors have already used the ESF. This tool is appreciated because reduces the time needed to retrieve informationmakes documents easier to read and provides critical data for patient management.
Criticalities
One of the main problems is the failure to supply the ESF by some health structures, or the insertion of data in unstructured formats. To overcome these difficulties, the government plans to create a new Health Data Ecosystem (EDS) by 2024, which will allow standardized data management at a national level.
A digital future for Italian healthcare
While awaiting the completion of this ambitious project, all Italian regions already have access to a monitoring dashboard to verify progress in the expansion of the ESF 2.0. By 2026, the goal is to have a fully operational health card and health record system throughout the country.
The Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci, underlined that the ESF will become the fulcrum of digital health in Italy, bringing health services closer to citizens and promoting integrated management of care.
