More protection for doctors. Health Minister Orazio Schillaci announced his intention to decriminalize medical liability only by providing an exemption for conduct involving fraud or intent to harm the patient. The aim is to counter the so-called “defense medicine” or the excess of white coats in exam or service prescriptions, who are thus trying to protect themselves from legal disputes. In fact, Italian law is very strict against medical personnel and, as only in Poland and Mexico, even a mistake made in good faith risks being subject to criminal penalties.
In addition to filling the justice machine, the numerous referrals from patients are a problem for healthcare itself. For a trivial reason: resorting to non-essential tests prescribed by doctors to avoid strict criminal consequences further lengthens waiting lists. Therefore, the intention of the majority is to change the course.
This is a reform that white coats have been waiting for a while. As Silvestro Scotti, secretary of the Italian Federation of General Practitioners (Fimmg), explains, today “any doctor who believes that he has been the victim of a doctor’s mistake with regard to therapy or case management can be reported by the patient, and for this the doctor may be penalized. However, a recent Eurispes study concluded that in the Roman court alone, more than 70% of criminal cases ended in acquittal and doctors were not involved”.
The government’s intention appears to be to decriminalize medical liability while maintaining civil liability. Pierino Di Silverio, secretary of the Anaao-Assomed union, points out that up to 350,000 lawsuits are filed against healthcare facilities and medical personnel in Italy each year. An abnormal number. Therefore, Di Silverio says, reform at the executive table is “the first fundamental step to put the patient and doctor back at the center of treatment, avoiding a defensive drug that prolongs treatment times.”
“Up to 70 percent of those who go to the emergency room can do without it,” Schillaci said.
Source: Today IT

Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.