From the South to the North for treatment, the trend is growing again after the years of the pandemic. 2023 marks an increase for health services carried out outside the Regionespecially for more complex operations, the treatment of tumors and prostheses. According to data fromNational Agency for Regional Health Services (Agenas) of the Ministry of Health, health mobility only involved 2023 670 thousand patients and it cost money 2.9 billion euros to public health. Among the reasons: the quality of the facilities and the long waiting lines.
Healthcare mobility between costs and reimbursements
I am 670 thousand people forced or pushed to move to obtain treatment, operations and prosthetics. In Italy the balance for 2023 is negative, with an increase in the number of those who are unable to obtain health services in their region and emigrate. The direction is, in most cases, from South to North.
THE’National Agency for Regional Health Services (Agenas) presented the 2023 report, which shows a level of mobility that has returned to the 2018 values and continues to grow. Two positive cases were also reported, where the conditions of access to healthcare improve, i.e Lazio And Campania. Even if the latter is still first for outgoing mobility with 235 million euros in reimbursements.
However, Lombardy has been displaced as the health center of greatest attraction for those coming from the Southern Regions. In its place theEmilia-Romagna. An example of incoming mobility and its costs is that of Sicily, which sees 142 million euros in reimbursements destined for Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna (half of the negative balance of the Region).
Agenas also reports a worsening of conditions in Umbrialess attractiveness and more outgoing mobility. The data, in the report, translates into a total sum of reimbursements equal to 2.9 billion euros (a figure that does not take into account who pays for treatment privately).
Why 670 thousand patients move: the most treated pathologies
Health mobility it’s not a choicebut a real necessity. In fact, in some regions there is a lack of structures or places for tumors removal operations or other complex operations. The greatest data is that linked to musculoskeletal pathologies: Emilia-Romagna has a balance of 228 million euros, double that of Lombardy.
But it’s not just this. Even if the data relating to complex operations are high (16%), the majority of cases of healthcare mobility are linked to pathologies of medium complexity (53%).
Beyond waiting lists too long (one in 3 people gives up healthcare services) and quality of facilities, there is also the diagnostic delay. From the data it emerges that in the southern regions there is a lack of beds and healthcare personnelbut above all that patients with chronic diseases receive diagnoses more late and are unable to obtain home care.
Then there is the lateral data of voluntary terminations of pregnancy (Ivg), which combines several factors. In this case, in fact, we move for structural reasons, i.e. the lack of doctors who carry out the interruption (due to the high number of conscientious objectors which in some regions, such as Sicily, exceeds 80%) and the long lists waiting for those few names of doctors who instead carry out the practice. A woman is even forced to travel 300 kilometers to be able to access the right to IVG.
