by Maximiliano Crocamo
Interview: FVG governor, Maximiliano Fedriga; FVG councilor for health, Riccardo Riccardi
Regional leaders in Friuli Venezia Giulia are highlighting the role of digital innovation in strengthening the public health system, pointing to advances in electronic medical records and remote patient monitoring as key to ensuring equal access to care.
Speaking on Thursday at a conference in Trieste titled “Innovating the National Health Service — Between the Digital Data Ecosystem and the Electronic Health Record,” Governor Massimiliano Fedriga said that the adoption of the electronic health record (Fascicolo Sanitario Elettronico, or FSE) is advancing steadily across the region.
“The data regarding the use of the electronic health record in Friuli Venezia Giulia are very encouraging, but we continue to work to grow further,” Mr. Fedriga said. “Technology is fundamental to providing more efficient and timely services to citizens, while at the same time ensuring consistent levels of assistance.”
The initiative was organized by the region in collaboration with the European Union, Italy’s Ministry of Health, the national Italia Domani recovery plan, and the Department for Digital Transformation. Officials and experts gathered to discuss how digital tools can improve the national health system, long under pressure from an aging population and uneven access to services.
Mr. Fedriga stressed that public trust is central to the system’s success, noting that privacy protections for health records are stricter than those on many commercial websites and social media platforms. “Our primary goal is always to protect people, giving them the best assistance possible,” he said.
At the same time, he criticized national rankings that compare regions on health care performance, saying they are often misleading. “These rankings, which receive wide media coverage, are almost always false because they are based on data collected in a non-uniform way,” he said, warning that political misuse of such statistics risks harming citizens.
Riccardo Riccardi, the regional health councillor, presented detailed figures on the adoption of the electronic health record. According to Mr. Riccardi, every resident in Friuli Venezia Giulia now has an activated record, and 53 percent have accessed it. The system contains more than 287 million digital documents, including nearly 50 million laboratory reports and 191 million electronic prescriptions.
Consent for data sharing is also significantly higher in the region than in the rest of Italy: 86 percent compared with a national average of 42 percent. Ninety-six percent of medical specialists in regional health facilities are authorized to consult the records, compared with 72 percent nationally.
Mr. Riccardi added that Friuli Venezia Giulia, together with Veneto and Valle d’Aosta, is already meeting health digitalization targets set for 2025 and even 2026. “The challenge of digitalization means fewer inconveniences for citizens, better access to services, and greater awareness by the medical professional of the patient in front of them,” he said.
Both officials framed digital innovation not as a quick fix but as a long-term investment. “Our goal,” Mr. Riccardi concluded, “is to guarantee equity and appropriateness in the ability to respond to people’s health needs.”
