From March 31st the electronic health record (FSE) reaches its final stage. The deadline is set by the decree of the Ministry of Health of 30 December 2024, signed by the minister Orazio Schillaci and published in the Official Journal no. 33 of 10 February 2025, which redefined the ESF 2.0 implementation timetable in three successive phases.
As the Ministry of Health explains, the electronic health record is the “access point to digital health and social-health data and documents generated by clinical events concerning the patient, through which the citizen can consult their health data and documents and share them with health professionals to guarantee continuity of care for a more effective and efficient service”.
What changes (and the critical issue)
The main change concerns loading times, given that all healthcare facilities – public, private and private, including specialist offices – will have to enter reports, prescriptions and clinical documents within five days of providing the service. Until now the obligation in practice concerned almost exclusively the public sector, without precise deadlines.
The critical issue concerns the preparation of the private sector. According to government sources cited by Repubblica, only 10% of private structures are currently able to comply with the new obligations. On the citizen front, the Ministry of Health notes that between July and September 2025 approximately one in three Italians consulted their file, with peaks of 66% in Veneto and minimums of 3% in Sicily. The consent rate for data consultation stops at 44%.
The objective of the timetable, included in the objectives of the PNRR, is the full interoperability of the system at national level by June 2026, with the prospect of extending it to European countries.
How do you access the ESF?
Accessing the Electronic Health Record (EHR) is quite simple, but changes slightly from Region to Region. To consult it you must use a valid digital identity:
From the “manage consents” section it is possible to obscure sensitive reports and data to protect your privacy. Obscuring makes the electronic file invisible to everyone except the patient and the author (for example the doctor who prepared the report). At a later time the document can be made available again.
