After several extensions, the Budget Law establishes that starting from 2025 all medical prescriptions must be issued in format electronic. However, doctors and pharmacists must deal with the reality of frequent technical malfunctions, and it will be necessary to find solutions to still ensure service to patients.
What’s new from January 2025
Starting from 1 January 2025, all the recipes, either “white” That “red”, they must be issued in digital format. Article 54 of the Maneuver establishes that all requirements for the National Health Service, local services for the assistance of navigation, maritime and civil aviation personnel and citizens must be electronic. The goal is to transform the medical prescription system, eliminating old paper prescriptions in favor of a completely digital format.
Each recipe will have a digital code, and the system must be able to guarantee its generation. The objective is to simplify electronic transmission via email, WhatsApp or other electronic methods, avoiding the need to physically go to the doctor to obtain the prescription. However, for those who have difficulties with technology, paper support will always be available.
Will there still be paper recipes?
No rule will stop doctors from continuing to print recipesnor for citizens to go to the doctor to request them, but every prescription must always have a digital version. The problem, however, is that there may be difficulties related to the computerization of the network, and in these cases the recipe may not be processed.
Introduced during the pandemic, this innovation is becoming permanent. The health crisis has pushed towards new assistance strategies, with the Pnrr promoting telemedicine. Medical visits and diagnostic tests at home, online video consultations and remote psychotherapy are now a reality, marking a digital turning point in medicine. The COVID-19 accelerated the digitalisation of healthcare facilities, with a strong increase in investments in Europe.
Criticisms from doctors and pharmacists
But not everyone applauds this initiative. Second Federfarma, the National Federation of Italian Pharmacy Owners, persist technical problems with the network. Gianni Petrosillo, vice-president of Federfarma and president of the Rural Pharmacies section, underlines that, despite having actively collaborated with the dematerialisation process, the system still presents critical issues. Although 98% of drugs are prescribed on digital prescriptions, the problems concern both the main network, the Central Reception System (Sac), and the local networks, the Regional Reception Systems (Sar).
Filippo Anelli, president of the Federation of the Order of Surgeons and Dentists (Fnomceo), highlights that electronic tools must be a support for doctors and for the quality of care, improving the transmission of prescriptions to pharmacies. However, the real challenge concerns the system readiness and the capacity of support networks. “We should avoid burdening the work of healthcare workers by strengthening the electronic structure,” he continues, referring to the more massive use that will be made of the network when, as foreseen by the budget law, all prescriptions must be dematerialized. The issue of home care also arises – adds Anelli – because “there are places in the country where the electronic lines are not stable or are not present at all”.
