Digitalisation in proximity health care services in Italy: an analysis upon possible different trajectories and the key role of both GPs and patients

Purpose We aim to uncover challenges in the digitalisation of health services in a public healthcare system in circumstances of major changes in primary care. The focus is on the response and impact on health professionals of a national policy designed to foster, among others things, the use of telemedicine in the changing setting of territorial assistance. For the first time a huge budget (8.6 billion, Mission 6 of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan – PNNR) by the central government was planned to favour the diffusion of e-health, after decades of unsuccessful attempts. Design/methodology/approach Applying a qualitative approach and triangulating data gathered through document analysis, semi-structured interviews and focus groups, we detected insights on the ongoing digitalisation of public primary healthcare services. Findings Our results confirm that a huge problem in the health sector is not innovation per se and, in this case, not even budget allocation, but the dissemination of innovative concepts. A fundamental role in the shift towards community care has been found in the general practitioners, seen as change agents and strategic promoters. Further, our research highlights the need of “educating/training” both health professionals and patients, thus revealing the importance of really creating a co-production scheme for developing an effective digitalised system. Originality/value Being among the first papers at the intersection between public health care and the impact of PNNR, our study suggests policymakers rethink ways of designing public policies about digitalisation and telemedicine.