Simi: Patients increasingly complex, need adequate care intensity

Rimini. Recognize internal medicine's level of care intensity appropriate to the needs of increasingly complex patients and support the evolution of care through ongoing training and innovation.

These are the topics discussed by Nicola Montano, president of the Italian Society of Internal Medicine (Simi), and Cecilia Becattini, president-elect, at the society's 127th National Congress, which runs until Sunday at the Palacongressi in Rimini.

"Internal medicine deals with extremely complex patients, where the clinical complexity is compounded by social and healthcare complexity," explains Montano. The discipline, he emphasizes, must be recognized for its adequate level of care intensity, with particular attention to high-intermediate intensity. "For this reason, we organized an institutional roundtable, inviting representatives from the Ministry of Health and Agenas to discuss organizational prospects."

The roundtable discussion "The Intensity of Care in Internal Medicine: From Outpatient to Semi-Intensive Care" was attended, among others, by Walter Bergamaschi, Director General of Healthcare Planning and Construction at the Ministry of Health, and Giorgia Duranti, Technical Manager of Agenas Pne Indicators.

The primary objective, the president emphasizes, is "to meet the needs of our patients and citizens. We live in a society where aging and comorbidities pose challenges both to the sustainability of the National Health System and to clinical appropriateness." In this context, internists claim a central role, which "is what we already do."

From this congress, "I hope that the needs of internal medicine will emerge, but also recognition of what internal medicine is already doing for all patients and for the National Health System," says Montano, who also identifies among the objectives a greater sense of belonging among members of the scientific society.

President-elect Cecilia Becattini also emphasizes the issue of care intensity: "Hospitals are required to offer particularly high levels of care for increasingly complex patients." Hence the need to update the clinical practice of internists as well.

"Our vision of the future cannot be separated from our vision of the present," Becattini emphasizes. "We will continue to promote continuing education. Being here today and in the coming days means updating ourselves, focusing together on institutional issues, alongside those of scientific research and clinical data, in a structured process involving various sessions and activities."

A focus that also encompasses innovation: "Certainly the evolution of diagnostic technology, but also the much-discussed role of artificial intelligence," observes Becattini. On this point, "internal medicine cannot stand still. It is the discipline most represented in Italian hospitals of all levels. It absolutely must keep pace with the progress and evolution of medical science and technology," concludes the president-elect of SIMI.