From digital data to plans for frailty: how Italy responds to the social and health challenge

Moreover, the social file is rarely connected to central systems and its deployment is patchy. This fragmentation results in inefficiencies and a poorly targeted use of resources, with projects and investments still too focused on the hospital and not enough on the territory.

It is, however, on the ground that the Regions and Health Authorities know they are facing the real challenge.
A particularly significant element emerges when looking at the initiatives aimed at the most vulnerable patients.
The projects dedicated to the management of frail patients - the elderly, the disabled, people with chronic pathologies - show a growing awareness of the need to integrate health and social care, but a still limited capacity for implementation.

The real novelty, however, lies in the scope of the planning ambitions for the two-year period 2025-2026: almost all the regions plan targeted investments to bridge the gap between vision and implementation.
According to NetConsulting cube, 95% of the administrations plan to introduce advanced analysis tools to monitor and optimise social and healthcare interventions by 2026, an area that is still completely absent today. A similar trend concerns the extension of the Electronic Health Record to social data, currently implemented in only'8% of cases but already planned by 92% of the regions.

The trend is similar in the development of shared digital platforms between healthcare facilities and social services: present today in 16% of cases, but planned by 84% of the Regions in the next two years. A similar trend can be observed in the digitisation and centralised management of Individualised Care Plans (PAI), active today in only 17% but planned in the remaining 83%. The signal is clear: the aim is to build an integrated digital infrastructure, capable of making the taking into care of citizens truly coordinated.

To complete the picture, 72% of the regions focus on portals and apps dedicated to caregivers, tools designed to strengthen the link between families, caregivers and professionals, fostering greater continuity of care

A similar trend emerges in personalised care pathway projects, which combine medical and social resources to improve the care of the most frail patients.

Again, implementation remains limited for now, but the potential for transformation is evident.

Only 1% now have business intelligence systems for the joint analysis of health and social data, but 88% plan to have them in place by 2026: a clear signal of willingness to move from reactive management to predictive and planning capabilities.

Digital tools for designing and monitoring customised pathways, which are the key to a truly integrated approach, are active in 8% of cases but in development in 92%.

At the same time, there is a growing commitment to the creation of shared databases to systematically map available health and social resources: an infrastructure that is currently active in only 2% of cases, but is being planned in 90% of the regions.

Similarly, there is growing interest in solutions based on artificial intelligence and predictive models for planning and customising interventions: present today in 8% of cases, but expected in 72% within two years.

Tremendous percentages, testifying to an unprecedented project ferment. But the question remains: will Italian healthcare be able to transform these projects into a true model of integration with the social sector?

From the point of view of Information Technology expenditure, NetConsulting cube estimates show encouraging signs, indicating a possible positive development in the coming years.

The largest share of investments, both current and estimated, continues to be in clinical and hospital systems, which absorb the largest share of expenditure: from 702 million in 2022 to almost 1 billion estimated by the end of 2025. In 2024, this item accounts for 45% of the total, with a value of 892 million. This is a physiological trend that is destined to remain stable over the next few years with constant growth rates, reflecting the need to modernise infrastructures, digitalise clinical flows and ensure full integration with regional and national systems.

Administrative-accounting, management and human resources systems, on the other hand, accounted for 21% of the total and reached a value of EUR 407 million (+3.5%) in 2024. The growth of this sector is now mature, and no significant increases are expected in the coming years.

Alongside these 'core' components, more interesting growth dynamics emerge at the strategic level. Social and territorial applications, although starting from lower values, grow by 41% between 2022 and 2025 (from 82 to 116 million), signalling a growing focus on the territorial dimension of care and the integrated management of frail patients.

Even more pronounced is the increase in the Electronic Health Record (Fascicolo Sanitario Elettronico - Fascicolo Sanitario Elettronico - FSE) and telemedicine, supported to a large extent by the financing of the NRP. The FSE rises from 123.9 million in 2022 to an estimated 181 million in 2025 (+46%), while telemedicine almost doubles in the same period (+116%, from 69 to over 150 million). In 2024 alone, IT expenditure for telemedicine reached 129 million euros (+17.6%), with an expected growth of 16% in 2025 and 13.8% in 2026. In the coming years, however, a physiological slowdown is expected for the FSE, given the resources already invested.

A further expanding area is that of reception systems (reservations, registry offices, digital front offices), estimated to increase from 189 million in 2022 to 240 million in 2025. A sign of the constant and progressive investment in the citizen's user experience and access to proximity services.

Social welfare, ESF, telemedicine and reception are the technological pillars of the integration of health and social care, a necessary condition for a truly connected, fair and sustainable system.

With the NRP nearing exhaustion, Italy will have to find new financial and organisational levers to give continuity to investments and turn them into structural results.

The priorities remain clear: to strengthen the territorial models, to ensure the integration of health and social care also in terms of data, and to promote a new culture of innovation. The real challenge will be to translate the logic of the project into a system policy, capable of connecting resources, skills and governance. Stopping now would mean dispersing all the work done so far and turning it into mere debt.

These issues - and how to build the next phase of Italian digital health - will be discussed at the Digital Health Conference (DHC), a forum for institutions, companies and professionals in the sector scheduled for 5 and 6 November, organised by GGallery and NetConsulting cube.

* NetConsulting cube