The U.A.P. raises the issue against clinical tests in pharmacies: “Then health facilities can sell drugs, creams and slippers”
Long note from President Mariastella Giorlandino: "
ROME – The President of theU.A.P. (National Union of Clinics, Polyclinics, Institutions and Private Hospitals), Dr. Mariastella Giorlandino, in underlining “the great success of the Press Conference held at the Chamber of Deputies on 27 June, at which they all the trade associations participated,the President of the Medical Association of Rome and Sicily, the President of the National Federation of the Medical Association, Senator Gramazio, the Honorable Gasparri and many other exponents of the world of politics, thanksPresident Mattarella for his enlightening words, which underline the need for this Government to apply the laws with transparency and not use shortcuts to damage the health of Italians”.
“Astonishment at the words of the president of FEDERFARMA”
Giorlandino underlines “his disappointment and amazement which arose after the confrontation with Marco Cossolo, President of FederFarma, during the interview with GR 1 RAI, from which the absolute ignorance on the existence of of the over 95,000 authorized and accredited private healthcare facilities, made up of outpatient clinics, polyclinics, hospitals and private clinics, widely distributed throughout the national territory, which have represented true local medicine for more than fifty years. Completely ignoring this wealth, (in the hope that it is truly ignorance and not bad faith) and naming only hospitals, general practitioners and pharmacies as the only healthcare providers, is completely misleading for the population, as it is not truthful. It would be desirable to understand the real factual situation before talking about new healthcare projects”.
For these reasons, Giorlandino believes “it is a duty for Italian citizens to clarify the currently existing regulatory framework. In particular, Legislative Decree no. 502/1992 (law having legal force throughout the national territory) establishes unequivocally that health services can only be provided in facilities that meet certain requirements (as many as 420!) and that have obtained regional authorizations”.
In this regard, he underlines that “pharmacies do not possess the requirements required by the aforementioned legislation, but act by virtue of a mere municipal authorization (provided for pursuant to Law no. 153/2009) which recognizes the possibility ofperforming self-monitoring tests, such as lancing tests, which do not provide an exact diagnosisand which, above all, do not identify any civil or criminal liability of the person who carried out the test in cases of possible diagnostic error. Therefore, recognizing pharmacies the possibility of providing real healthcare services means going against the regulatory provisions of the aforementioned Legislative Decree no. 502/1992, and therefore no longer guaranteeing quality of services, passing it off to citizens as a measure of economic convenience which does not exist
Giorlandino continues: “I’ll give you an example: for an electrocardiogram performed by a pharmacist (who is NOT a doctor) and reported via telemedicine, the pharmacies are reimbursed €30.00; on the other hand, an electrocardiogram performed and reported by a doctor is only €12.00 reimbursed to healthcare facilities. It is scandalous to note that greater funds are provided for pharmacies compared to those paid to healthcare facilities and public hospitals, while only a few months ago a cut was foreseen of 80% of the reimbursements expected to hospital facilities and accredited facilities affiliated in the Regions in the recovery plan, due to an alleged lack of funds to finance Italian public healthcare. All this would have entailed a certain risk of closure of public healthcare facilities and a certain failure of the private ones, in addition to a macroscopic damage to the treasury, subject to judgment before the Court of Auditors, thus affecting only Southern Italy in the recovery plan”.
“Although the D.L. Zangrillo and the so-called “Taglia Code” Decree have not been approved – adds Giorlandino -, we ask the Regions how it is possible that they are self-deliberating to the pharmacies the possibility of carrying out screening with national funds without respecting the aforementioned national legislation referred to in Legislative Decree no. 502/1992, putting the health of citizens at serious risk and thus creating two distinct categories of health facility providers. : pharmacies free from spending requirements and ceilings and healthcare facilities which must instead comply with 420 regional requirements and authorisations”.
GIorlandino adds: “For these reasons, the U.A.P. appeals to the institutions and in particular to the President of the Republic Mattarella, in his capacity as guardian and guarantor of the Constitution, whom he thanks for his enlightening words, so that clarity can be achieved on the funds paid to pharmacies and on the clear violation of art. 78 of Royal Decree no. 1265/1934, which expressly provides for the incompatibility of the healthcare profession with that of traders of these regulatory interventions – which equate pharmacies to healthcare facilities – we can then consequently deduce that even private healthcare facilities can provide healthcare services without complying with the 420 requirements required by Legislative Decree no. 502/1992,without having to subordinate the exercise of their business to prior regional authorizations and if they can sell drugs, creams and slippers”.