Last week the new technical panel established by the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) and the National Federation of Orders of Surgeons and Dentists (FNOMCeO) met for the first time. After the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, the panel will remain in office for two years.
The agenda featured a range of topics, including optimal use of medicinal products, better understanding of the clinical and operational implications of their use, ethics and deontology in clinical research and prescription, independent information to be implemented also through communication campaigns managed by AIFA.
Two working groups were created: one on medicinal products subject to a therapeutic plan, with the streamlining of monitoring and follow-up, and another on antimicrobial resistance.

“The meeting was a fruitful exchange of views on issues of great relevance and interest. We thank AIFA, in particular Director General, Nicola Magrini, and President, Giorgio Palù, for the opportunity for us to engage in an institutional dialogue”, Filippo Anelli, President of FNOMCeO, commented.
“The starting point was our recommendation to abandon the “managed medicine” pathway, which is mainly driven by budget reasons, and to privilege a medicine centred on citizens’ health. This objective is attainable only if the principles of autonomy, independence, responsibility of the medical and dental profession are applied, as also noted by the Constitutional Court”.

Nicola Magrini, AIFA’s Director General, stressed that: “We are aware of the role played by the Agency in regulating pharmaceuticals, as well as of the direct responsibilities of doctors and dentists when prescribing and administering them. For this reason, acting up a forward-looking input provided by the Ministry of Health, we have quickly set up a Memorandum of Understanding with FNOMCeO, which we expect will deliver results, already in the short term, on appropriateness of pharmaceutical uses and shared information.”