La telemedicina nelle cure primarie: pratiche ed opinioni in un campione di MMG italiani

Hospital telemedicine has received widespread attention, while telemedicine in primary care is recent and unpublished. An original survey of Italian general practitioners (GPs) revealed practices and opinions on telemedicine during the Sars-Cov2 pandemic, which is believed to have driven its spread. It emerges that telemedicine in Italy is still used by a minority of GPs; although its use has increased with the pandemic, it has turned to simple and generalist technologies, less compatible with the complex digital healthcare architectures promoted by the EU. GPs’ opinions remain realistic, acknowledging the multiple technological, economic, and regulatory obstacles to primary care telemedicine, despite the perceived clinical and economic benefits. The findings of this study question the wisdom of policymakers, who, with the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), have generously allocated resources, yet appear to be yielding uncertain and unsatisfactory results regarding primary care telemedicine