Spending for the purchase of prostheses and health devices skyrockets in 2023 with a chilling report and a confirmed undershooting of over 173 million euros compared to an expense of 537 million euros in 2022 and a pre-established ceiling of 362 million euros. Essentially two million euros more than the expense a year ago when they were asked to tighten their belts as much as possible. A tile for the general directors of local health authorities, large hospitals and IRCSS, already in the eye of the storm for exceeding the spending ceilings for the direct purchase of medicines of over 200 million euros.
Compulsive shopping is also confirmed for prosthetics with a surplus of 46 percent compared to the regional ceiling for the supply of cardiac stents, wheelchairs, diapers, but also needles and syringes. The data from the health department leaves no escape for health managers, who have also been forced several times over the course of the last year to contain costs, monitor contracts and verify their appropriateness.
Spending cuts resolutions which were essentially ignored with the catastrophic results recorded throughout the calendar year and in particular in the last quarter of 2023 which saw four companies in particular end up on the waste black list including the Lecce Local Health Authority with an increase of 3.3 million euros and the ASL Bari for 2.6 million euros. The same trend recorded over the previous 12 months with the ASL Bari which accounted for the lion’s share of costs, racking up an excess on prosthetics of more than 37 million euros, followed by Lecce at 36.9 million, by Taranto which closed at 22.7 million, Policlinico di Bari at 22.3 million, Foggia at 14.7 million, Bat at 13.2 million, Brindisi at 12.5 million, the Ircss De Bellis with 4.1 million and the Oncological with an additional 1.2 million.
The only virtuous company is the Polyclinic of Foggia which achieved savings of 4.2 million euros. Too little not to bring grist to the mill of the Amati law which from 2022 imposes the forfeiture of general managers who do not respect the spending ceilings for pharmaceuticals. In reality, a few months ago another similar text was rejected which provided for the same penalty in the event of crazy spending in the field of prosthetics and health devices. However, the removal represents in any case an “extreme” measure which, for their part, the managers and on their behalf Fiaso, the trade union, have returned to the sender considering that there are cases in which a fault can be identified in the management and others where it is not possible to do so considering the private nature of the contracts of the directors of healthcare companies.
