Abstract
Telemedicine is making an important contribution to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and to supporting the health domain. Its use has registered initial problems with often-patchy practise. The objective of this study was to analyze the launch and deployment of telemedicine in Italy through a narrative review. The narrative review faced two points of view: (a) the first point of view revised the institutional initiatives of the Italian government developed to promote the use of telemedicine; (b) the second point of view reviewed the evolution of scientific literature in the sector, with reference to the Italian situation. In the second point of view, we applied both a standard narrative checklist and an eligibility approach. The first point of view reported an analysis of national documents aimed at promoting, through indications and recommendations, the use of telemedicine. The second point of view analyzed 39 qualified references. The analysis highlighted: (a) that initially, there was a disorientation, followed by reflections that emerged immediately after; (b) a telemedicine application not only in the traditional sectors (e.g., diabetology, cardiology, oncology, neurology) but also in new and fields never explored before; and (c) a high level of acceptance and a desire to continue in the after-pandemic future (which emerged in some studies through dedicated questionnaires). The study offers stimuli for both stakeholders and scholars to improve the use of telemedicine during the pandemic and in the future.
Highlights
Telemedicine as a diagnostic, monitoring, and rehabilitation treatment tool is showing great potential during the pandemic, as highlighted by Bahsnur et al [1]
Purpose of the Study The purpose of the study was to address the launch and deployment of telemedicine in Italy through a narrative review, addressing both the promotion initiatives at national level and the experiences of application at the level of acceptance. All of this facilitates both answering the important question of “how telemedicine started in Italy during the pandemic and how it is going”, and making a point about the use of telemedicine in Italy. This narrative review faced two points of view: (a) the first was aimed at analysing institutional government initiatives designed to promote the use of telemedicine and to raise awareness among stakeholders; (b) the second was aimed at analysing the evolution of scientific literature in the sector, through a Pubmed overview, with reference to the Italian situation
An Overview of Italian National Recommendations and Indications In Italy, an important role in fighting the pandemic was played by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS)
Summary
Telemedicine as a diagnostic, monitoring, and rehabilitation treatment tool is showing great potential during the pandemic, as highlighted by Bahsnur et al [1]. A period of maturation can be identified, in which responses to some critical issues began to appear; these were based exceptional needs related to the pandemic that emerged, and several institutional indications on the use of telemedicine and in the area of interventions were produced. Numerous reports by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (the Italian National Institute of Health), focused both on telemedicine and on sectors needing telemedicine, have been published (such as, for example, the reports in [7–10]). Other stakeholders, such as the Regional Government and the Italian Ministry of Health, have activated initiatives to promote the use of telemedicine.
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