Today and tomorrow, the Best Western Plus Tower Hotel in Bologna hosts the regional congress of the Italian Society of General Medicine and Primary Care (SIMG), an event that brings together about 400 family doctors alongside institutional representatives, healthcare professionals, and the academic world. The congress is chaired by Marco Cupardo, SIMG Emilia-Romagna secretary, and Alessandro Rossi, national SIMG president. Scientific coordinators of the event are Michela Pastore, Daniela Petraglia, and Sara Roversi.
Aging Population and the Rise of Chronic Disease
The congress opens from a demographic and social context undergoing profound evolution. In Emilia-Romagna, those over 65 represent 24.9% of the population and more than 336,000 elderly people live alone, data that significantly affect the demand for healthcare and the organization of community care. The aging of the population, the growth of chronic conditions, and increasing loneliness are redefining the role of general medicine, making it increasingly central to patient care.
The Family Doctor Between Clinical Management and Social Support
In recent years, the demand for community-based care has indeed grown and become more complex. The family physician is increasingly called not only to be the first healthcare reference but also a point of social support for vulnerable and lonely patients. The family doctor is now expected to provide comprehensive and continuous care, as emphasized by Marco Cupardo, able to address not only clinical needs but also those related to frailty and patients’ living conditions.
Territorial Health Care in Emilia-Romagna: Organizational Models
Emilia-Romagna confirms itself as an advanced model of territorial health care, thanks to the development of group medical practice, integration with nurses and local services, and the spread of Community Homes and Territorial Functional Aggregations. However, the changes underway demand an additional leap in quality. “We have built a solid system,” emphasizes Cupardo, “but today we must make it work fully, focusing on real integration among professionals and on effective services, not merely their formal presence.”
The Future of General Medicine Between Innovation and Sustainability
At the national level, the need to rethink general medicine also emerges. Without a unified and innovative vision, the profession risks being crushed by excessive and often inappropriate workloads, as explained by Alessandro Rossi. For Rossi, it is essential that institutions listen to the needs of family doctors, guaranteeing adequate tools, organizational support, and structured multidisciplinary teams.
Challenges: Doctor Shortage and Administrative Burden
Among the main challenges are the generational turnover of general practitioners, made complex by a large number of retirements, and the increasing weight of bureaucratic obligations.
The physician’s time must return to being a time of care, lightening administrative burdens and strengthening support within practices, as Cupardo emphasizes.
Community Homes and Multidisciplinary Care
A key role in the future of territorial health will be played by the Community Homes provided by the PNRR. However, their full effectiveness will depend on the capacity to render them operational and integrated.
Scientific Program: Prevention, Chronicity, and Innovation
The Emilia-Romagna SIMG Regional Congress represents, therefore, an important moment of discussion about the future of general medicine. The scientific program addresses topics of great clinical and organizational relevance: from cardiovascular and metabolic risk management to diabetes, from obesity to chronic kidney disease, to respiratory diseases, pain, and frailty. A broad portion is also devoted to prevention, adult vaccinations, the fight against antibiotic resistance, as well as a focus on artificial intelligence in primary care and clinical simulation laboratories.
An event that aims to place the family doctor back at the center of the discussion, the first line of defense of the national health service and a key figure for the future sustainability of the health care system.
Abbonati a Karla Miller
