Digital health, the challenge now is to move from experimentation to structural adoption
A meeting at the Chamber of Deputies took stock of the relationship between policy, innovation governance and market development, with a focus on the conditions needed to operationalise digital solutions in care pathways
by Alfredo Cesario*
From regulation to concrete implementation. This was the issue at the heart of the meeting held at the Chamber of Deputies on Thursday 19 March on digital health policy, the regulatory framework, innovation and the market, promoted by MEP Simona Loizzo, a member of the Social Affairs Commission of the Chamber of Deputies. The issue today is no longer whether digital health represents an opportunity, but rather whether the country is able to build a solid institutional framework to accompany the transition from experimentation to full adoption in the National Health Service.
The central theme that has emerged is the relationship between policy, innovation governance and market development, with a focus on the conditions required to make digital solutions operational in care pathways. It is within this framework that the work of the Parliamentary Intergroup on Digital Health and Digital Therapies, chaired by Simona Loizzo, is being carried out, with the aim of fostering the connection between legislative instances, competences and priorities of the health system. The Intergroup's activities are supported by a Committee headed by Franco Bruno, which helps to provide technical and strategic guidance to the debate.
The initiative highlights the need to bring digital health back to an operational terrain of validation, access, interoperability, sustainability and equity. Alongside the institutional level, the discussion also involved the healthcare and research system. The participation of representatives of the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, including the director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center Giampaolo Tortora, and the DPO Avv. Francesco Giorgianni, highlights how digitalisation is increasingly integrated into the dynamics of clinical and organisational medicine.
During the meeting, the volume Digital Medicine Starter Guide, edited by Alfredo Cesario, Marco Gorini and Domenico D'Amario, was also presented. The text is part of the debate as a methodological tool to address the integration of digital medicine in the NHS, with a focus on regulatory and organisational aspects. The preface by the Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci, and by Loizzo herself contributes to strengthening its institutional profile.
The message that has emerged is clear: digital health cannot be tackled either episodically or as a mere technological evolution. It requires political direction, institutional coordination and integration capacity in organisational models. The challenge is to move from a phase of widespread experimentation to one of structured, regulated and scalable adoption. It is on this terrain that the maturity of Italian digital health is being played out.
