The electronic prescription becomes permanent. This was announced by the Minister of Health Horace Schillaci, speaking of the health measures contained in the Simplification Decree. The minister explains that it was considered “right to put an end to the experimentation and the extensions to simplify the work of family doctors and the life of citizens who will not have to go to medical offices but will be able to receive the prescription by email or other channels on their mobile phones” .
The rule was initially designed for the Covid emergency, when there was a desire to prevent outpatient clinics from filling up with people, introducing the possibility of sending a reminder of the prescriptions via email or by message on the phone with the prescription identification code, to be shown directly to the pharmacy. The measure was supposed to expire last January, but after protests from doctors and pharmacists, the government extended it for a year. Today the decision to keep it forever.
The novelty for the chronically ill: prescription valid for one year
Furthermore, for chronic patients, the dematerialized prescription will be valid for a year and will allow them to stock up on medicines for 30 days of therapy, always on the basis of the doctor’s indications. “A chronically ill patient periodically needs to take the same drug – says Schillaci – thanks to this rule, patients or those who take care of them have the double advantage of not having to repeatedly go to the doctor for the prescription and to the pharmacy for the drugs “.