00:00Professor, what are the main obstacles to eye health in Italy today?
00:07The major obstacles are represented by the fact that prevention is done to a very limited extent,
00:15and this is because prevention is difficult to introduce into the health system,
00:24especially because politicians have some difficulty investing in prevention,
00:31for the simple reason that if you invest in prevention the results are obtained after 10-15 years
00:39and the politician, on the other hand, needs to have results in an immediate time,
00:46because the elections are after six months, they are after a year, they are after, at best, a year and
00:53half or two,
00:54it is therefore inevitable that the attention that the world of politics has is entirely directed towards treatment solutions
01:04that give immediate results.
01:08However, where prevention has actually been implemented, the results are present, they are excellent results,
01:17This is demonstrated for example by screening programs for ocular complications of diabetes.
01:25which have been implemented in Northern European countries or in England,
01:29where it is proven that a much better quality of vision is achieved for patients
01:36in the face of savings in terms of health care costs which are also enormous
01:43and therefore if there was greater attention to these issues we could obtain as a result
01:52a marked improvement in the quality of vision but also a marked improvement in finances
01:58and the health system.
02:00Meanwhile, there's been talk of a national prevention plan. What's your appeal?
02:06The appeal is that all ophthalmological issues can find space within the national theme of prevention
02:13and that all our expectations can somehow be realized.
