Academic Journal
Mapping, displaying, and facilitating access to autism services: an Italian eHealth solution.
| Τίτλος: | Mapping, displaying, and facilitating access to autism services: an Italian eHealth solution. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Caruso A; National Centre for Rare Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: angela.caruso@iss.it., Micai M; National Centre for Rare Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: martina.micai@iss.it., Gila L; National Centre for Rare Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: letizia.gila@iss.it., Sabbioni M; National Centre for Rare Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: mara.sabbioni@iss.it., Galati G; National Centre for Rare Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: giulia.galati@iss.it., Fulceri F; National Centre for Rare Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: francesca.fulceri@iss.it., Scattoni ML; National Centre for Rare Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: marialuisa.scattoni@iss.it. |
| Πηγή: | International journal of medical informatics [Int J Med Inform] 2026 Sep 01; Vol. 217, pp. 106490. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 May 20. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd Country of Publication: Ireland NLM ID: 9711057 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1872-8243 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 13865056 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Int J Med Inform Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: Shannon, Co. Clare, Ireland : Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd., c1997- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Autism Spectrum Disorder*/therapy , Digital Health*/organization & administration , Health Services Accessibility*/organization & administration , Telemedicine*/organization & administration , Dashboard Systems*, Humans ; Italy |
| Περίληψη: | Background: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) presents a significant global challenge, necessitating robust healthcare services and strategic policy planning. This study describes the development and implementation of a national eHealth solution to systematically map ASD healthcare centers across Italy. Methods: The Italian National Institute of Health, under the mandate of the Ministry of Health, established a multidisciplinary working group to lead a co-design process for developing and implementing an eHealth platform that maps healthcare services for individuals with ASD across all Italian Regions and Autonomous Provinces. Results: The dynamic eHealth platform was developed and refined through a two‑step evaluation process to ensure technical reliability, standardized data collection, and alignment with operational needs. It is publicly accessible through the National Observatory for Autism website and systematically collects geographical and operational characteristics of healthcare services, the composition of multidisciplinary workforce across services, access procedures and public availability of information. As of 2024-2025, the platform has mapped 1,228 services for individuals with ASD and/or intellectual disability, covering both child and adult populations. More than 30,000 professionals are involved in delivering diagnostic and rehabilitative interventions. Analysis highlights regional disparities in service distribution and workforce composition. Conclusion: The national eHealth platform provides a standardized, accessible solution that enhances transparency and coordination of ASD services across Italy. By consolidating verified service data, it supports navigation for individuals with ASD and their family and enables policymakers to monitor disparities and inform evidence‑based planning. (Copyright © 2026 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Digital platform; Health policy, eHealth; Healthcare services |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260527 Date Completed: 20260607 Latest Revision: 20260610 |
| Update Code: | 20260610 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2026.106490 |
| PMID: | 42202664 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1872-8243 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2026.106490 |