Over the last year and a half we have often heard about the national health system , and until the pandemic broke out, we forgot the fundamental role it plays for the country. This unexpected event, which put a strain on it, made it clear the importance of keeping its efficiency high.
Established in 1978, the National Health Service (abbreviated to SSN) can be defined as the complex of functions, structures and services intended for the physical and mental health of a population, capable of offering free assistance.thanks to the payment of contributions by citizens or through the payment of tickets, regardless of the financial means available. The introduction of a system of this type has made it possible to significantly lower infant mortality and to lengthen the average life expectancy, bringing it to 82 years. Structure and organization of the NHS
The main body of the NHS is the Ministry of Health , which has the task of defining the objectives to be achieved in terms of public health, establishing the amount of the health fund and how to distribute it among the Regions which, through Local Health Units (ASL), provide health services to citizens. It is therefore clear that the system is articulated on different levels of responsibility: state, regional and local. In particular, the State must ensure the population Essential Levels of Assistance , the so-called LEA, i.e. services and services provided free of charge or through the payment of a ticket regardless of financial availability, considering the resources provided by the NHS. Collective prevention (which includes vaccination programs that currently concern us closely), district assistance , such as pharmaceutical or specialist outpatient assistance, and hospital assistance fall into the category .which includes first aid and rehabilitation. A National Commission has the task of monitoring and updating the LEAs, verifying the appropriateness of the National Health Service, while a Standing Committee controls the provision of the Leas, their appropriateness and efficiency in relation to the use of resources. There are other bodies and institutes that work under the Ministry and contribute to the functioning of the NHS, such as the Istituto Superiore di Sanita , a technical-scientific body that deals with research, experimentation and training plans, with a decisive role in the preparation of the Plans . national health . The National Medicines Agency should not be forgotten, whose tasks concern the registration of medicines and the communication of medicines to the population, and the Institute for prevention and safety at work , in close contact with public and private bodies to assess the risks that citizens incur in carrying out a profession , so as to improve safety. National health plan and funds
As already mentioned, the Government is responsible for drafting the three-year National Health Plan , which aims to reduce social and territorial inequalities and indicates the purposes and main sectors of research, the amount of funding to be ensured to the regions. and the LEAs. The resourcesto offer the latter for free, they come from ticket revenues, from funding from Regions with special statutes and from Irpef, even if in recent times they have progressively decreased, making the system unable to manage a pandemic situation like the current one. The cut in funds also causes delays in the provision of services, inducing users who can afford it to turn to private facilities, and those who do not have the opportunity to not care. Pharmaceutical companies and transport companies
There are actors left in the background, including pharmaceutical companies or those involved in the transport of drugs, which contribute to the proper functioning of the organs belonging to the NHS such as hospitals and pharmacies, which without the transport of medicines would not have the adequate tools to treat patients. However, temperature-controlled transport is essential for the success of the assistance offered. It is important to consider the type of article you want to displace: medicines must be subjected to a temperature between + 15 ° C / + 25 ° C , while pharmaceutical products keep their integrity between + 2 ° C / + 8 ° C . Biological samples should be stored at -20 ° C , while in case of blood tests, the bags must be moved by qualified personnel at + 4 ° C. How to understand if there are any changes in temperature during the trip
There are special devices, called data loggers , capable of reporting any changes with the aid of a graph. In addition to paying attention to the degrees, transport companies must have insulated and refrigerated vehicles , capable of keeping the products intact during the movement phases, as well as containerssuitable for protecting drugs from external contamination, on which labels must be applied with information regarding the methods of handling and storage in the warehouse, functional to identify the goods at a glance. All supplies must be accompanied by a document indicating, in addition to the name and quantity of the item, also the details of its supplier and its recipient, and the lot number if it is to be delivered to wholesalers or public and private structures. It is essential to mark the damaged packages and withdraw them from the salable goods, in order to avoid irreparable damage.
