Puglia health orders demand clear rules for opening private clinics

On 16 July, the collective Orders of health professions in Puglia – representing more than 30,000 physiotherapists, technical staff, psychologists, biologists, nurses and midwives – sent a joint proposal by certified email to Regional Health Assessor Donato Pentassuglia, Health Promotion Director Vito Montanaro and Regional President Antonio Decaro. The proposal asks for an urgent meeting to establish uniform, transparent procedures for the opening and operation of private health studios, citing difficulties in applying article 5, paragraph 6 of regional law 9/2017 and the issuance of the “nulla osta” by local health authorities (ASL). The region had acknowledged on 25 February that these procedural gaps risked interrupting territorial health services and introduced a six‑month transitional regime set to expire on 25 August. No response has been received, leaving hundreds of professionals in a regulatory limbo and threatening continuity of care in the region.