• Filippo Anelli, president of the National Medical Association: the epidemiological scenario changes
  • Coronavirus, the alarm on the spread

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February 25, 2020 Filippo Anelli, president of the national federation of medical orders (Fnomceo), goes straight to the point: "The regional management of the coronavirus emergency - he says - has proven to be ineffective".

"From north to south - stresses Anelli - colleagues complain of many situations in which general practitioners, continuity of care, emergency systems, clinics, INPS and hospital staff have not been put in a position to work safely".

Not only that, adds Anelli: "The individual safety devices" which the regions "have not been able to supply" are missing or in short supply.

The Italians have understood and telephone triage with general practitioners is working. What instead risks jeopardizing the effectiveness of the Covid-19 containment measures are the bureaucratic fulfilments, such as sickness certificates for INPS, which provide for the patient's direct visit. Visits that family doctors still find themselves obliged to perform without any means of protection. " This was reported by Silvestro Scotti, president of the Italian Federation of General Practitioners (Fimmg).

"In the yellow and red areas the problem is the disease certifications, which provide for the direct observation of the doctor, who otherwise would incur a criminal offense", explains Scotti, who also asks himself: "If INPS has blocked visits until the doctors have the protective devices, why do we family doctors have to continue doing them, without any protection? ".

For his part, Scotti decided to do the certificates anyway, without a visit, "after which I will go and report myself. Family doctors cannot be exposed to contagion for an administrative action. Among other things, those of us who are now in quarantine in the affected areas, have not been replaced. " In fact, the family doctors "are bare-handed in the area. Although the Lombardy regional guidelines are excellent, in fact masks, gloves and overalls are still missing. I myself had tried to buy them on Amazon, but he gave them to me later March 20 ".

Italian citizens, on the other hand, have already shown that they have accepted the new indications not to go to the general practitioner's office, but to consult with him first by telephone. Many phone calls, text messages and requests also came to family doctors for whatsapp, who were asked to expand the telephone availability. At this stage the real problem, concludes Scotti, "is not the severity of the infection, but that it is very contagious and if it affects an overly large population, the most serious and complex cases that will get ill will risk blowing up the health system".