Healthcare, clinical engineers: “On new technologies in Pnrr listen to professions”

Listening to the professions that work at the forefront of healthcare to make the best use of the resources provided for in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan on the front of technological and digital renewal. This is the appeal launched by the Italian Association of Clinical Engineers (Aiic), gathered in Milan for its 21st national conference. “The message we intend to launch today – states Lorenzo Leogrande, president of the meeting – is that our scientific societies are ready to give their contribution to better define the next operational steps. In the next period, the final identification steps will have to be developed. real needs, the distributions and the bureaucratic and formal acts to be able to put hand to this massive modernization work which by 2024 will have to lead to an expenditure of about 1.2 billion euros. The times are actually tight “, therefore” we believe that the professionals involved in the front row are the voice to be listened to promptly for that rationalization that we all feel the need, so that this measure of the Pnrr generates effective quality in patient services “.” In one of the most important (and discussed) passages of the Pnrr – recall the clinical engineers – an investment in technological and digital hospital infrastructures is foreseen ‘through the acquisition of 3,133 new large high-tech equipment characterized by an age of more than 5 years’ “. However, “it is not clear to many observers and experts how the number of 3,133 new devices was defined – observes Giovanni Guizzetti of the AIIC – Evidently, when it comes to CT scans, magnetic resonances, linear accelerators, fixed radiological systems, gamma cameras / CT scans, mammographers and ecotomographers, we are going to touch on topics of very strong media impact. But we are above all interested in understanding how these figures have been defined, what are the effective age-thresholds to define operational obsolescence, and what are the technological and the benchmark performance. Overall, it seems to us that this investment is important, but retains some unclear points. It is therefore a topic to be observed carefully and rationalized, with the contribution of the many operators involved in the sector “. congress session dedicated to the topic – reports a note Aiic – exponents of various scientific societies took part, including which Antonio Orlacchio (Sirm, Italian Society of Medical and Interventional Radiology), who highlighted how modernization must be “targeted and rationalized”, and placed in close “relationship with the presence and training of dedicated personnel”. Vittorio Donato (Airo, Italian Association of Radiotherapy and Clinical Oncology) and Laura Evangelista (Aimn, Italian Association of Nuclear Medicine) have “enthusiastically” embraced the planned investments. “For oncological radiotherapy these funds are a breath of fresh air – says Donato – From the censuses carried out by Airo we know that Italy is in a situation that is sometimes dramatic, with machines that are more than 10-12 years old. to a renewal of the machinery fleet, aiming at its realization on the basis of shared values ​​of equity and transparency in the territory “.” Even nuclear medicine has welcomed the news of this investment with enthusiasm – remarks Evangelista – Based on AIMN data we know that in our We already have 924 machines to change urgently. But we are aware that enthusiasm is not enough and must be transformed into rational and actually useful investments “.