RIMINI (ITALPRESS) – Making the laboratory data uniform, comparable and usable regardless of the structure in which they are produced is one of the essential steps to transform the Electronic Health Paper from simple archive of instrument documents able to really accompany the citizen in the treatment path. It is one of the indications emerged from the 58th National Congress of the Italian Society of Clinical Biochemistry and Clinical Molecular Biology – Laboratory Medicine (SIBioC), which in Rimini brought together about 2 thousand professionals. A specific session, “Electronic Healthcare 2.0: value of the reference in digital innovation”, compared professionals of Laboratory Medicine, Clinics and Health Ministry on the necessary requirements for diagnostic data to be transferred and used by different systems and structures while maintaining its clinical significance. Among the critical issues that emerged in the SIBIoC survey are still limited knowledge, different information systems, communication difficulties between platforms, training deficiencies and insufficient involvement of laboratory professionals. An examination must be recognised, read and correctly compared even in a structure other than the one in which it was performed. It is one of the objectives of the Electronic Health Paper 2.0 and the European Health Data Space (EHDS): the Laboratory Medicine Report is no longer just a document to be archived or consulted, but part of an informative heritage that must be able to accompany the person in the different places and moments of his health history. The availability of structured and interoperable information also opens up perspectives that go beyond the consultation of the single reference: early diagnosis, identification of pathological conditions in the subclinical phases, personalization of care, research, epidemiology and health planning. Even the most advanced applications of artificial intelligence require a reliable information base, consisting of comparable and usable data without loss of clinical significance. Flavia Lillo, Managing Director SIBioC, presented the results of the Company’s findings, which highlighted a significant disogenity in the national territory in the knowledge related to data coding and the ESF. Serena Battilomo, Director of Office 3 – National Health Information System and Digital Innovation in Health of the Ministry of Health, has illustrated characteristics and perspectives of the ESF 2.0, highlighting its role not only in the access of the citizen to its health information, but also in the exchange of data at European level and, in compliance with the rules envisaged, in their use for research, epidemiology and health planning. Roberta Gazzarata, PhD in Bioengineering at the University of Genoa, has deepened the role of LOINC encoding in making laboratory data interoperable and aggregate, recalling the complexity of the process and the need to involve professionals in Laboratory Medicine. In fact, LOINC is an international standard of coding that assigns to every outcome of laboratory tests a unique identification, creating a common language that allows the data to be exchanged, recognized and interpreted correctly between health structures, professionals and different information systems. From the clinical point of view, Paola Gnerre, President Elected of the Federation of Associations of Internist Hospitaller Managers (FADOI), highlighted the decision difficulties that can arise when results from different laboratories are not immediately comparable for differences in units of measurement, in reference intervals or in modes of representation. Ferruccio Ceriotti, past President SIBioC, presented the experienceof the Lombardy Region in the harmonization of the report, showing the progress achieved but also the need to develop coordinated initiatives on a national scale. “The Electronic Healthcare Paper represents a great opportunity, but it is not enough to transfer a paper to digital report – says Sabrina Buoro, President SIBioC – The qualitative leap is to make sure that the diagnostic result can follow the person, be recognized in the different systems and keep the same clinical meaning everywhere. This has direct consequences on the quality and safety of care: a comprehensible, comparable and reliable data allows the doctor to better reconstruct the patient’s history and make more appropriate decisions. To this end, SIBIoC supports the training of laboratory medicine professionals, so that they can actively participate in digital transformation, correctly govern coding processes and contribute to the quality and safety of data. Every competence can be shared with the institutions.” The information generated by Laboratory Medicine is a significant asset not only for the individual patient, but also for prevention, research, public health and programming. Laboratory Medicine is in fact a relatively limited share of health expenditure, but it generates a much wider value: published studies indicate that laboratory tests contribute to orienting approximately two-thirds of clinical decisions, confirming its central role in patient diagnosis, care and monitoring. The availability of reliable and comparable data therefore assumes an increasing value even in the face of demographic and health changes, from ageing the population to migratory flows to the effects of climate change on health. The quality of information therefore becomes a necessary condition to more effectively orientate the future welfare models and enhance the applications of artificial intelligence. SIBioC participates in the national tables, even with AGENAS, and will start specific training courses dedicated to the FSE 2.0, to the interoperability and enhancement of the laboratory data, with the aim to increase the skills of professionals and allow Laboratory Medicine to govern the digital transformation instead of subirla. The aim is to contribute to the quality and harmonization of data, to promote a conscious use of technologies and to enhance the skills of professionals so that the information heritage produced by Laboratory Medicine can increasingly translate into diagnosis, prevention and care for citizens.
– photo press office SIBioC –(ITALPRESS).
