Italy is in the midst of the digital revolution in healthcare. After years of experiments, Artificial Intelligence is becoming the cornerstone of a more predictive, personalized and efficient system. The photograph taken at the Digital Health Conference in Milan from the “Digital Health 2025” report by NetConsulting cube portrays a country in transition, with investments in strong growth but still distant from the top international players.
Growing investments, +90% in three years
The numbers confirm the change of pace. Spending on AI and analytics for Italian healthcare has exploded: from 120.9 million euros in 2022 to 191 million in 2024, with a forecast of 228.1 million for 2025. A 90% leap in just three years which marks the transition from pilot projects to structural investments for the sustainability of the National Health Service.
However, the transition is far from automatic: it requires skills, interoperability and a shared vision between the public and private sectors. Annamaria Di Ruscio, CEO of NetConsulting cube, explains:
Italy is in an important transition phase. Thanks to the Pnrr we are catching up, but there remains room for improvement compared to the European benchmarks. Only by overcoming these critical issues will we be able to position ourselves among global leaders.
AI enters hospitals but there is the skills problem
AI is no longer an abstraction, but an operational reality. Its fields of application range from administrative automation (91%) to diagnostics (57%), from waiting list management (50%) to healthcare spending simulation (60%). The benefits are tangible: reduction of errors, faster decisions and optimization of resources. 70% of general managers recognize its positive impact on the speed of processes.
Among the most promising areas are projects dedicated to the simulation of spending and the dynamic management of waiting lists, together with administrative automation tools that allow for more accurate planning, reduced time and more transparent processes. Applications for evaluating the appropriateness of medical prescriptions are also emerging, confirming an evolution now oriented towards predictive governance, capable of anticipating needs and directing resources more effectively.
Technology, however, runs faster than skills. 73% of general managers report internal staff shortages. Implementation costs and data fragmentation also have an impact. The challenge now is to create multidisciplinary teams that integrate doctors, data scientists and legal experts to govern innovation.
The future is precision medicine
Meanwhile, the next chapter is being drawn: that of precision medicine. 83% of the Regions envisage dedicated platforms and 88% aim for an Electronic Health Record enriched with genetic and environmental data. Some facilities are already building clinical “data lakes” to merge historical and real-time information, generating predictive models to support clinicians.
The road is paved, but the last mile is still uphill: 55% of CIOs still do not have fully digitalized Diagnostic Therapeutic Assistance (PDTA) Paths. In this scenario, the role of the Privacy Guarantor will be crucial to transform data protection from a constraint to an enabling factor, creating common rules for truly integrated healthcare.
