Introduction of digital tools to support GPs after COVID-19 in Italy 2020

During the COVID-19 emergency in Italy many patients in need of care and consulting could not access health services the way they used to in the past. For this reason, digital communication channels have become central in the interaction between patients and doctors, in particular general practitioners. According to a survey conducted in June 2020 among general practitioners in Italy, 84 percent of respondents reported that they planned to introduce smartphones to communicate with patients. Moreover, 78 percent of them reported the need and intention to use a virtual private network (VPN) to access working documents and applications remotely.