Italy’s healthcare bureaucracy is on the verge of a significant transformation. A simplification bill published in the Official Gazette introduces a long-awaited change: medical certificates will soon be allowed through teleconsultation, ending the requirement for sick workers to visit their doctor in person or request a home visit. Family doctors had strongly advocated for this shift, arguing that telemedicine would ease the administrative burden on clinics.

The scale of the issue is considerable. In the first half of 2025 alone, more than 16.5 million medical certificates were sent to the national system - 5% more than the previous year - three quarters of which came from the private sector. Although the law formally takes effect on December 18, the new tele-certification process cannot begin until the State-Regions Conference defines the specific procedures. Until then, current rules requiring in-person assessments remain unchanged.

Safeguards against abuse will stay firmly in place. Penalties for falsified certificates will apply equally to in-person and remote evaluations, and fiscal inspections continue as usual: over 223,000 were carried out in the first quarter of 2025.

Another key reform concerns patients with chronic conditions. Their prescriptions will soon be valid for up to twelve months, reducing the need for repeated doctor visits. This measure, too, depends on a forthcoming ministerial decree that must outline cost-neutral procedures. Once implemented, pharmacists will dispense 30-day supplies at a time while updating the prescribing physician, who can modify or suspend treatment at any point.

Patients will also be able to obtain needed medications immediately after hospital discharge or an emergency-room visit using their clinical documentation, an especially helpful change during holiday periods when family doctors are less accessible.