Facilities for Territorial Medicine: the experiences of Piedmont and Lombardy Regions

Abstract

In recent years, the demographic transition and epidemiological has made the health system hospital-centric obsolete and has highlighted the need for a new organization focused on territorial health community, taking charge of the patient, on team work and can ensure, through dedicated facilities, continuity of care and integration of social welfare. The main changes in the regulatory field have thus oriented investments both structural and economic towards poles to network with hospitals that represent new points of reference for the health of citizens, where primary care services are integrated with the territory and the specialized services of the Public Health departments. These facilities provide the organizational paradigm to which the regional realities must strive. The article reports recent experiments conducted within the regions of Piedmont and Lombardy in this sector and the ongoing research in the field of CNETO on behalf of the Lombardy Region.

Keywords

• Territorial medicine
• Primary care
• Assistance continuity
• Health