This is a telephone number dedicated to distress calls. A specialised operator answers the call and asks a few questions to understand the seriousness of the incident. When necessary, he sends an ambulance and, depending on the seriousness of the case, arranges for a doctor to be part of the rescue team. The 118 service operates 24 hours a day.
The acronym ASL stands for a public body belonging to the Italian public administration, whose purpose is to provide health services. ASL, in fact, stands for Azienda Sanitaria Locale.
The ASL fulfils the tasks of the NHS (National Health Service) in a specific area, which can be a municipality, a province or a group of cities.
This means that every citizen has an ASL to which he or she can turn for certain services of a health, veterinary and other nature.
Single Booking Centre (CUP) means the centralised computerised system for booking healthcare services, which is responsible for:
ENI Code (European Non-Enrolled)
It is issued to EU citizens, without an EHIC and residence, who are not enrolled in the NHS.
Access allows:
A medical prescription is a real document, drawn up by a qualified and registered doctor, which allows the patient to book specialist medical visits, diagnostic examinations and to pick up or purchase prescription medicines.
Within the Italian National Health Service, the so-called 'intramoenia' activity refers to services provided outside normal working hours by hospital doctors, who use the hospital's outpatient and diagnostic facilities in return for payment of a fee by the patient. The doctor has to issue a regular invoice and the expense, like all health care expenses, is tax deductible.
The services are generally the same that the doctor must provide, on the basis of his contract of employment with the National Health Service, through his normal work as a hospital doctor.
The services provided under the intramoenia scheme guarantee the citizen the possibility of choosing the doctor to whom he will turn for a service.
By choosing a general practitioner (GP) and/or paediatrician (children's doctor), you will be able to access NHS services free of charge:
Operational unit of the hospital dedicated to emergency cases and with spaces dedicated to brief observation, where first aid is provided in all cases of urgency and emergency (trauma, heart attacks, etc.) and access is given in "urgent admission" mode.
In the event of a medical emergency (accident, injury, life-threatening situation), the emergency department provides first aid. Access is independent or through the 118 service.
Visits to the emergency department are not made in order of arrival, but according to the severity of the symptoms detected by the staff.
At admission triage, health workers assign a priority colour code to ensure immediate care for people whose lives are in danger.
A medical prescription is a document, filled out by a licensed and registered medical doctor (with a degree in Medicine and Surgery), which allows the citizen to pick up prescription medicines (drugs) from a pharmacy. Dentists can also prescribe medicines, limited to those necessary for the practice of their profession.
There are two main types of prescription commonly used:
The electronic prescription cannot be used for the following prescriptions, for which the red prescription is still required or special prescriptions are required:
Health is everyone's right, protected by the Italian Constitution
The National Health Service is a system of structures and services aimed at guaranteeing all citizens, on equal terms, universal access to the equitable provision of health services, in implementation of Article 32 of the Constitution, which states:
"The Republic protects health as a fundamental right of the individual and an interest of the community, and guarantees free care to the indigent. No one may be obliged to undergo a given health treatment except by provision of law. The law may in no case violate the limits imposed by respect for the human person".
Fundamental principles
The fundamental principles on which the SSN has been based since its establishment by Law No 833 of 1978 are:
Foreigners irregularly present in Italy are guaranteed basic healthcare through the assignment of the STP (Straniero Temporaneamente Presente - Temporarily Present Foreigner), an individual regional access code, recognised throughout the country, which identifies the migrant also for the reimbursement of services provided by public and private accredited facilities.
In the absence of identity documents, the health facility must register the personal details provided by the assisted person.
The STP code is valid for 6 months, can be renewed if the foreigner stays in the national territory and is free of charge in case of indigence.
In particular, the following are insured:
Registration with the National Health Service entitles you to the issue of the Health Insurance Card (TS), which is given to foreign citizens upon presentation of their residence permit.
It is a personal document, in credit card format, for all citizens entitled to SSN services. It is valid for 5 years and allows access to SSN services (medicines, examinations, diagnostic tests), and is also valid as a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). The card can also be recognized by blind people, thanks to the use of raised characters. It can also be used in all cases where the tax code has to be shown.
Percentage share that the Public Administration charges on medical examinations, welfare services, medicines and clinical analyses.
It is paid for by presenting the doctor's prescription and the examination reservation at the counter of the outpatient clinic or hospital where the health service is to be provided.
On the F. A. R. I. APP you can find all the information you need about health, visits, exams and tickets. Search for the APP on the App Store or Google Play and download it now. The APP F. A. R. I. is in Arabic, Bengali, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Pashtu, Russian, Somali, Chinese.
