How to get visits and exams in the right time: waiting lists in the post-pandemic

The most difficult challenge for a public and universal health system like the Italian one, which must guarantee fair access to services for all citizens, is to be able to carry out diagnoses and treatments in compliance with the maximum times provided for by national legislation in order not to compromise the prognosis and quality of life of the patients. What each of us can do to contribute to the proper functioning of the health service is know your rights and learn how to use the services well. The first thing to know is that the access times are defined by the priority class assigned by the general practitioner at the time of the prescription. This priority class is valid “only for the first visits and for the tests that are used to diagnose a health problem not yet known, while all those aimed at a subsequent check are established by the specialist, and in this case it is directly up to him to prescribe and book the appointment without the patient having to go back to his family doctor and the Cup (the single booking center, ndr) “Clarifies Mariangela Galante, responsible for waiting lists and booking systems for the Abruzzo ASL 2. But that’s not always the case. “In about half of the cases the specialist refers the patient to me,” he says Pina Onotrifamily doctor in Rome and general secretary of the Italian doctors union. Alessandro Politisecretary for the province of Milan of the Italian Society of General Medicine (Simg), testifies: “The check-up is managed by the specialist in 90% of cases in public structures and only in 50% in accredited private ones”.