Achille Sclavo (1861-1930) and His Innovative Contributions to Italian Preventive Medicine and Healthcare Policy.

Achille Sclavo was a scientist with a multifaceted personality; throughout his life, he steadfastly maintained his commitment to research and teaching, while also gaining precious experience as an educator, politician and entrepreneur. He carried forward these various activities with the aim of bringing relief to a country smitten by epidemic diseases, of spreading the gospel of hygiene, and of creating and training medical and healthcare personnel that would be able to tackle the difficult problem of public health in Italy at the beginning of the twentieth century. In this regard, Achille Sclavo can undoubtedly be considered a precursor of modern public health and preventive medicine.

The static evolution of the new Italian code of medical ethics.

Eight years since the last revision, in May 2014 the Italian code of medical ethics has been updated. Here, the Authors examine the reform in the light of the increasing difficulties of the medical profession arising from the severity of the Italian law Courts. The most significant aspects of this new code are firstly, the patient's freedom of self-determination and secondly, risk prevention through the disclosure of errors and adverse events. However, in both areas the reform seems to be less effective if we compare the ethical codes of France, the United Kingdom and the United States. In particular, the non-taking into consideration of the said code quality standards and scientific evidence which should guide doctors in their clinical practice is to say the least questionable. Since these are the most significant changes in the new code, it seems inevitable to conclude that the 2014 edition is essentially in line with previous versions. Now more than ever it is necessary that medical ethics acknowledges that medicine, society and medical jurisprudence have changed and doctors must be given new rules in order to protect both patients' rights and dignity of the profession. The physician's right to refuse to perform treatment at odds with his own clinical beliefs cannot be the only mean to safeguard the dignity of the profession. A clear boundary must also be established between medicine and professionalism as well as the criteria in determining the scientific evidences that physicians must follow. This has not been done in the Italian code of ethics, despite all the controversy caused by the Stamina case.

Anaesthesiological manpower in Europe.

Information about physician anaesthesiologist manpower in the countries of the European Union was collected from questionnaires sent to the delegates representing their respective countries on the European Board of Anaesthesiology. In the countries of the European Union and Switzerland and Norway 40,259 specialist anaesthesiologists are recorded. The number of anaesthesiologists in relation to population varies between as little as 4.4 and 4.6 (Ireland and UK) and as many as 15.6 (Italy), with a mean of 10.8/100,000 inhabitants. There are 11,610 physicians recorded in training in anaesthesiology. The ratio of trainees to specialists in the European Union countries was 28.8/100, varying from as low as 6.5 in France, to as high as 96.7 and 98/100 in Ireland and the UK respectively. These figures indicate a wide difference in the numbers of specialists and trainees between the European countries studied. However, the overall mean figure is close to that reported in the USA (9.2/100,000).

Contribution à l’étude de l’Histoire de la Societe de Pharmacie de la Mediterranee Latine / No disponible

Esta sociedad agrupa farmaceuticos universitarios y oficinales de tres paises del Europa ocidental : Espana, Francia e Italia…..pero, desde 2002, esta sociedad es abierta para farmaceuticos de cultura latina o que partenecen a un pais del mediterraneo. El autor del articulo conta la historia de esta sociedad, nacida en 1953, poco despues del final dela segunda guerra mundial. Reùne, cada dos años, en uno despues en otro de los tres paises fundadores, un congreso internacional que reùne, despues 60 anos, lo mas selecto del cuerpo farmaceutico. En 1984, el profesor IMBESI ( Italia) propone de abrir esta sociedad a otros paises……esta idea fue mal aceptada al principio, fue objeta de largas discuciones, pero, en 2002, durante el congreso de TOURS ( Francia) fue ligeramente modificada y despues aceptada. El articulo se termino con la lista de los 30 ultimos congresos internacionales(AU)

Cette société rassemble des pharmaciens universitaires et officinaux de trois pays de l’Europeoccidentale : Espagne, France et Italie. mais depuis 2002, cette société est ouverte à despharmaciens de pays de culture latine ou qui appartiennent au bassin méditerranéen. L’auteur de l’article raconte l’histoire de cette société, née en 1953, peu après la fin de la seconde guerre mondiale ; elle réunit tous les deux ans, dans l’un puis dans l’autre des trois pays fondateurs, un congrès international qui, régulièrement depuis 60 ans, rassemble l’élite du corps pharmaceutique. En 1984, le professeur IMBESI (Italie) proposa d’ouvrir cette société à d’autres pays que cestrois pays fondateurs……cette idée fut mal acceptée au début, fit l’objet de très longues discussions mais, en 2002, lors du congrès de Tours ( France )elle fut légèrement modifiée puis acceptée(AU)