Ostacoli e criticità nella implementazione della policy nazionale di telemedicina. Ruolo e persistenza della variabile regionale

To address the weaknesses demonstrated by the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan has promoted extensive investments to reform and strengthen community care services. A key pillar of this initiative is the launch, for the first time in the Country, of a common national strategy for the deployment of telemedicine services. One of the objectives of this initiative is to standardise the models of care provided throughout the Country, overcoming the strong regional disparities that historically characterises the Italian NHS. Through a documental analysis of the NRRP framework on telemedicine and the implementation plans provided by the Regions, the Authors highlight that, due to the ambiguity of the regulatory framework and the high level of autonomy constitutionally assigned to the Regions, a high degree of regional heterogeneity will prevail among the «standardising» goal of the government-promoted reform, both in terms of governance and operational models. The implications in terms of inequality in access and quality of care will also be discussed.