Waiting lists in Italian healthcare show signs of improvement, even if significant differences remain between the Regions and critical issues for some services. This is what emerges from the bulletin of Agenas, the National Agency for regional health services, on the trend of waiting times for medical visits and diagnostic tests. In the first half of 2026, accredited public and private healthcare facilities provided 1.6 million more services within the guarantee times compared to the same period in 2025.
The data indicates an increase in the capacity of the Health Service to respond to citizens’ requests, also thanks to the monitoring introduced with the new national platform on waiting lists. Instead, in the first six months of the year, 2 million 811 thousand Italians still had to wait beyond the expected time for a visit or exam.
First visits and diagnostic tests, what has improved
According to Agenas, both first visits and diagnostic tests improve. In the first half of 2026, 78.5% of first visits were carried out within the guaranteed times, compared to 76.4% in the same period of 2025. For diagnostic tests the figure is even higher: 84.6% were carried out within the scheduled times, compared to 82.8% the previous year. Overall bookings also increased. It went from 13.3 million in the first half of 2025 to 14.9 million in the first half of 2026. Visits carried out on weekends were 357 thousand, i.e. 27 thousand more than the previous year.
The Regions with the best and worst results in the first visits
For the first visits, the best result is that of Basilicata, where 98.9% of the services were carried out within the guarantee times. Marche is also above 90% with 94.5%, Lazio and Veneto with 91.5%. Followed by Molise, Calabria, Campania, Liguria, Lombardy and Sicily. However, some areas are further behind where the percentages remain lower, such as Puglia and the autonomous province of Trento.
In comparison with 2025, the most marked progress is recorded in Liguria, with an increase of 19.7%, and in Lombardy, with an improvement of 9.5%. The most evident setbacks instead concern the autonomous province of Trento, with -8.4%, and Sicily, with -7.5%.
The picture is also different for diagnostic tests. Four regions guarantee compliance with deadlines in over 90% of cases: Veneto with 97.1%, Campania with 96%, Basilicata with 94.6% and Marche with 92.4%. Also above 80% are Lazio, Tuscany, Molise, Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, Lombardy, Calabria, Piedmont and Friuli Venezia Giulia. Among the Regions with lower percentages are Sardinia, the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, the Autonomous Province of Trento, Sicily, Valle d’Aosta, Abruzzo, Puglia and Umbria. In the annual comparison, Umbria improves by 7.8% and Lombardy by 7.7%. Abruzzo, on the other hand, recorded a decline of 10.8%.
Urgent and short visits, faster times
The most significant improvements are in higher priority performance. In the first half of 2026, 81% of urgent visits were carried out within three days, compared to 77.7% in 2025. For visits classified as short, to be provided within 10 days, the share rose to 80.2%, compared to 77.3% the previous year.
Progress is also recorded for urgent diagnostic tests, guaranteed within three days in 76.4% of cases, compared to 73.2% in 2025. Class B exams instead go from 75.9% to 77.6%. However, there remain cases in which the times are much longer. For some scheduled services, which should be provided within 120 days, the wait can exceed 300 days.
The performance that improves the most
Among the visits, the oncological ones recorded the highest percentage of time compliance: 95.2%, with an increase of one point compared to 2025. The gastroenterological visit also improved, which went from 70.8% to 74.7%, the pneumology visit, from 77.7% to 80.9%, and the physiatric visit, from 78.5% to 82.7%. Among the diagnostic tests, colonoscopy stands out, improving by almost 10 points: from 60.8% in 2025 to 69.8% in 2026. Gastroscopy, mammography, breast ultrasound and abdominal magnetic resonance imaging are also on the rise. However, MRI of the brainstem showed a decline, going from 83.9% to 81.9%.
