Santagostino: medical consultations, prevention and healthcare accessible to all
When a postponed appointment becomes a problem
It happens all the time. A nagging ailment that just won’t go away, an appointment marked in the diary and then postponed, a specialist consultation to be booked ‘as soon as there’s time’. The problem is that, often, that time never comes.
Between work, family and daily commitments, even looking after your health can become complicated. Every step requires organisation: finding a specialist, choosing an easily accessible clinic, checking opening hours, finding out the cost and, if necessary, returning to your GP with the results.
Santagostino, a private network of specialist clinics founded in 2009, is a healthcare provider offering state-of-the-art medical facilities, whilst keeping prices affordable and eliminating waiting times. Its centres in Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio and Liguria offer consultations, tests and outpatient services designed to make access to care easier.
Finding a consultation that fits into your schedule
Anyone looking for a specialist has to balance different needs. An appointment near the office might be convenient during a lunch break; to accompany a parent, however, a centre closer to home may be needed.
Santagostino allows you to book many services via the website and the mySantagostino app. It is also possible to book an appointment for a family member by selecting the correct person in your profile: a useful feature for those managing a child’s appointments or helping a parent to organise them.
The presence of multiple centres, open from Monday to Saturday with continuous opening hours, allows you to explore different options. However, availability and opening hours should always be checked for your chosen centre: one centre may be suitable for a consultation, whilst for a specific test you may need to go elsewhere.
Also, knowing the fee at the time of booking helps you make a more informed decision. Santagostino lists prices on its website and applies variable rates depending on the doctor’s availability; the cost should therefore be checked for the selected appointment.
Prevention starts with a person’s medical history
A check-up may be arranged even in the absence of a specific ailment. During a consultation with the doctor, topics such as blood pressure, recent blood tests, smoking habits or family history are discussed, and it becomes necessary to identify which aspects require further investigation.
The work of the CUORE Project at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità helps to understand this process. Through studies of the Italian population, the project has developed tools to estimate cardiovascular risk, taking into account factors such as gender, age, diabetes, smoking, total cholesterol and systolic blood pressure.
As part of the services offered by Santagostino, cardiology consultations and laboratory tests can address the need for further investigation identified by the doctor. The patient can arrive at the appointment with the tests already completed and discuss their lifestyle habits, whilst the healthcare professional assesses what information is still required.
When a test is needed after the consultation
The specialist consultation may be the first step in a longer process. To clarify the cause of pain, verify a hypothesis or investigate a test result in more detail, the doctor may request further tests. At that point, you will need to book another appointment, check availability and find out who to report the results to.
Santagostino combines consultations with laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging, offering services such as ultrasound scans, X-rays, MRI scans and CT scans, available at its fully-equipped centres. Anyone who has begun their care journey at a multi-specialist medical centre such as Santagostino can seek the further investigations recommended by the specialist within the same network.
For the patient, this can mean maintaining a single point of contact whilst the steps to be taken change. The choice of test, however, remains linked to the doctor’s assessment: what needs to be clarified, which test is required, and within what timeframe.
What to check before your appointment
Before your consultation or test, it is advisable to check: the exact name of the service, the address of the facility, the time, any preparation instructions, any previous test results to bring, and how to access the new results.
Having a clear understanding of these steps helps ensure the appointment goes smoothly. Leaving a previous test result at home, for example, may prevent the doctor from immediately comparing a result with what had emerged months earlier.
The process continues with the test result
Once the test is complete, you need to collect the result and have it assessed. Santagostino provides an online Results Portal and also offers the option to collect results in person, in accordance with the procedures set out for documentation. Being able to view the report from home means you’ll have it ready for your next appointment.
However, having the document and understanding its meaning are two distinct steps. An abnormal value or an unfamiliar term may raise questions to be discussed with the doctor, along with the reason why the test was requested.
Before leaving the surgery, it is worth clarifying the next step: whether a follow-up appointment is needed, when to book it, and which test results to bring with you.
