Lombardy, from June in pharmacies free blood pressure, cardiac and ECG holter for heart patients.

Starting next June, citizens residing or domiciled in Lombardy, with exemption for cardiovascular diseases, will be able to access telemedicine services free of charge in Lombardy pharmacies. These include pressure Holter, cardiac Holter and ECG. To be able to take advantage of these services you will need to have a blank prescription signed by your doctor. The service will subsequently be extended to diabetic patients.

This is what one predicts resolution approved by the Regional Council on the proposal of the Welfare councilor and which marks a significant step in the experimentation of the 'service pharmacy'.

With this project of the Ministry of Health, which will end in December 2024, the Lombardy Region aims to transform pharmacies into centers that offer health services and benefits.

The new resolution approves the final phase of the project, introducing two new services: drug therapy reconciliation and telemedicine services.

WELFARE COUNCILOR: PHARMACIES USEFUL AND AVAILABLE TO CITIZENS - "The role of pharmacies – commented the Welfare councilor - it is the same as us doctors and all those who deal with health: to be useful and to be available to our fellow citizens. Pharmacies already play an essential role in Welfare in Lombardy, beyond the task of providing medicines for various pathologies (last year more than 80 million medicines were dispensed), they can now be considered true local health facilities. As already experienced during the COVID-19 period with swabs and vaccinations, they can efficiently deal with screening, verification and monitoring of the health status of citizens. With this initiative, the Lombardy Region takes a further step in this direction, demonstrating its commitment to improving the accessibility and effectiveness of health services. 
Pressure Holter, cardiac Holter and ECG in particular are tests that provide a series of necessary indications to be able to make the right diagnoses and adopt the correct therapies in the cardiovascular field, allowing us to give a further boost to the reduction of waiting lists".

RECONCILIATION OF PHARMACOLOGICAL THERAPY – The drug therapy reconciliation service consists of comparing the list of drugs taken by the patient, any supplements or other products, and those that should be administered in specific circumstances. This process allows the doctor to make more precise prescribing decisions. The pharmacist will have a crucial role in administering a questionnaire to the patient, thus facilitating the doctor in his prescribing activity and preventing risky events, especially in situations of polypharmacy.

TELEMEDICINE SERVICES – Pharmacies will offer telemedicine services for categories of people already classified at risk or suffering from pathologies, including blood pressure Holter, cardiac Holter and ECG.

Currently, around 1.800 pharmacies offer these services at the expense of the citizen. With the new resolution, pharmacies will have to be accredited as suppliers for the Regional Health System (SSR). The results of the services carried out in the pharmacy will be included in the citizen's Electronic Health Record (EHR), allowing the doctor to view them and helping to reduce the waiting lists for these services.