The constant increase in life expectancy and the shortage of healthcare personnel are the factors that have most influenced the post-pandemic landscape and the healthcare systems of European countries in recent years. The year 2025 is therefore seen as a crucial milestone for the evolution of digital healthcare.
In a European scenario where 1.2 million doctors and nurses are missing, new technologies are both a resource and a strategic priority for healthcare systems worldwide. Analysts estimate that the healthcare technology market will exceed $500 billion.
While Italy is addressing these challenges with the launch of the National Telemedicine Platform and the electronic health record, the European Union is developing the European Health Data Space—a dedicated data ecosystem that will meet the healthcare needs of all EU citizens.
In this continuously evolving context, the key investment areas will include telemedicine, artificial intelligence, data analysis and security, and electronic medical record management systems.
The National Telemedicine Platform
Thanks to the €1.5 billion investment provided by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) for the digitization of the national healthcare system, Italy could become the first country in Europe to launch a National Telemedicine Platform (PNT).
Presented in February by Agenas, the National Agency for Regional Healthcare Services, the platform is already online and in the process of being populated with data by Regions and Autonomous Provinces. The goal is to monitor up to 300,000 patients through telemedicine tools by December 2025 and expand this number to at least 790,000 in the coming years.
According to the project, promoting the uniform adoption of telemedicine services across the country will help optimize hospital discharge processes, improve the quality of local healthcare, reduce territorial disparities in healthcare services, enhance national accessibility, and shorten waiting lists.
Services of the National Telemedicine Platform
The platform will allow patients to independently enter relevant health-related information, while doctors will be able to collect, streamline, and organize data from medical procedures and the use of medical devices.
The system will also enable standardized evaluation of healthcare service effectiveness by focusing on patient clinical outcomes rather than the number of procedures performed. National experts will define key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess these outcomes. Additionally, administrative data on services provided via telemedicine will be collected to support financial planning and economic evaluations.
Telemedicine solutions will be managed through a regularly updated “whitelist” supervised by the Ministry of Health. The platform will involve a large number of healthcare professionals, including over 42,000 general practitioners, 121,000 specialists, and nearly 100,000 nurses.
Its management has been assigned to PNT Italia Srl, a company established by Engineering Ingegneria Informatica Spa and Almaviva Spa, through a 10-year public-private partnership.
Electronic Health Record 2.0
Along with telemedicine and electronic prescriptions, the Electronic Health Record (EHR) is one of the main tools through which Italy aims to achieve digital healthcare. As a result, it has been a major recipient of investments from the PNRR funds.
The update to EHR 2.0 followed the Ministerial Decree of September 7, 2023, published in the Official Gazette on October 24, 2023. This decree established the content, responsibilities, and implementation guidelines for the EHR 2.0. It also outlined data protection measures to safeguard patients’ rights and specified differentiated access levels. Health records and documents will remain accessible to patients and the healthcare professionals who generated them.
The European Health Data Space
The European Union has already launched a project to unify national initiatives: the European Health Data Space (EHDS). This initiative aims to create a digital ecosystem that makes healthcare data accessible across Europe, allowing citizens to manage and control their information, access it from anywhere, and ensure continuity of care.
The EHDS stands out for:
- Greater control for citizens over their healthcare data
- Use of health data for research and innovation
- Creation of a single market for digital healthcare services
- A strong focus on security and privacy, in compliance with GDPR
This initiative represents a major milestone in the digitization of Europe’s healthcare sector, aiming to improve patient care, support research and innovation, and ensure data security and privacy.
The Challenge of Healthcare Data Security and the Role of AI
As the use of digital devices, healthcare apps, and telemedicine platforms increases, so do the risks of cyberattacks and privacy breaches. These threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
International regulations, such as the GDPR in Europe, emphasize data protection, but emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) add complexity to secure data management.
According to the OECD, AI has enormous potential to:
- Improve patient health outcomes
- Increase healthcare worker productivity
- Create “patient-centered” healthcare experiences
AI is already being used in diagnostics, personalized treatment plans, hospital and workflow optimization, and patient communication enhancement.
However, AI also raises ethical and legal concerns, such as:
- Accountability for decisions made by AI systems
- Transparency and fairness of AI algorithms
Therefore, regulations on AI in healthcare must adapt to these new technological realities while ensuring patient rights protection.