Health, Padovani (L): “Digitalization improves the relationship between doctor and patient”

There digitalization in neurology “It is important for two reasons. The first is that the world is going in this direction and so is medicine: we are perfectly aligned with Agenas regarding the need to bring the specialist branches and specialist areas in this direction. The second because digitalization will allow make the national health system sustainable and will enable it to provide more correct, more appropriate and local responses“. As Alessandro Padovani, president of the Italian Society of Neurology (Sin), explains to Adnkronos the impact of a “revolution” driven by computerization “in which people still seem to have little faith, but which will also change the relationship between doctor and patient in a favorable way”, in addition to counteracting the phenomenon of “desertification”.

In concrete terms, “digitalisation will allow the doctor, first of all, to to control one’s actions and to be able to avoid mistakes – Padovani continues – but also will provide information that the patient cannot remember, but which is part of his medical history promoting a more correct and precise choice of therapies. The other aspect concerns making the response to the patient more punctual, more effective, more timely” who, moreover, is “monitored in a more punctual manner”. Thanks to technology “the various medical areas will be able to harmonize the treatment paths, giving punctual responses regardless of the location”.

To this revolution “the Pnrr has given a strong pushbut there is no doubt that the Minister of Health, Agenas, together with the Regions, are giving a further significant contribution – observes Padovani – But neurologists are too few and concentrated in large cities. In Italy there are approximately 6,500 neurologists – specifies the Sin president – This is a number much lower than the 1 in 10 thousand inhabitants that we defined as an untouchable value. The problem is that we are witnessing a desertification, especially in the suburbs. Neurologists, like other specialists, are concentrated in the big cities, but they leave the suburbs, the provinces, the small towns completely unprotected. Just think – explains Padovani – that there are regions, including Lombardy, where it is difficult to find neurologists. This means that we still have a lot to do to redistribute the workforce. We must be aware that, in a changing and aging society, there is a greater need for neurologists than we had estimated to be necessary up to 10 years ago”.

There is much talk about the need “for a psychologist. The neurologist is not seen as a Cinderella, but he is certainly not valued like a cardiologist or an oncologist. Of course – Padovani clarifies – we are not in competition with psychologists, nor with psychiatrists, with whom we share the same matrix and also the same interests. We deal with diseases that are apparently stigmatized or have a big stigma such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. But in reality the neurologist also deals with strokes, prevention of cerebrovascular diseases and all the complications in the course of other diseases, including internal medicine. The neurologist deals with most of the pathologies of the elderly – the specialist lists – sleep, headache, fatigue and many other conditions”.

This desertification of neurologists is not due to a lack of attractiveness. “In Italian specialty schools we reach 100% of enrollments – assures the president of Sin – I believe that there is a planning that is the child of a different time. Today the planning of places in specialties should also be reevaluated in light of the demographic transition and, if that were the case, we would need more places in specialty schools. But perhaps we should first of all be able to move neurologists from the big cities, where life is better, to small towns. This, however – concludes Padovani – is a cultural revolution that is difficult to sustain”, but digitalization could be a help.