HEALTH RESORT MEDICINE IN ITALY AND TEACHING MEDICAL HYDROLOGY: THE STATE OF THE ART

Spa therapy, using mineral waters, muds, baths in mineral water and caves, is applied in 390 thermal stations, almost all in activity, standing in 185 thermal sites. In every region of Italy it is present one or more spa resorts. Toscana, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Campania are leader regions of thermalism. Overall 500 health resorts supply spa therapy, if we include also the hotels qualified to give some thermal therapies or thermal wellness. Each year about 1,500,000 people attend italian health resorts. So the thermal system of Italy needs of specialists in Thermal Medicine, who know very well the composition of mineral waters, their physical-chemical properties, their medical applications, alone or associated or alternated with medical therapy, physiotherapy and climatotherapy. Spa physicians also must know very well the contraindications of spa therapy and the possible collateral effects, albeit no frequent. Finally, university medical schools and spa resorts perform controlled and longitudinal-observational studies to evaluate the beneficial effects of spa therapy and the cost/benefit relationship of this therapy. These efforts are documented by researches and studies published in international medical journals. The teaching of Thermal Medicine actually comprises in Italy: 1) School of Specialization in Thermal Medicine. It is included in the Schools of Specialization of medical area, class of General Medical Clinic, which include Internal Medicine, Geriatry, Sport Medicine, Thermal Medicine, Medical Oncology, Community Medicine. They are two Schools of Specialization in Italy: one in Rome and one in Milano. National referee for the Schools is Prof. Antonio Fraioli. 2) Basic knowledge of Thermal Medicine are given to medical students mainly as seminarial activities. 3) Lectures of Thermal Medicine are present in the Schools of Specialization in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Rheumatology. 4) A II level Master in spa medicine is working at Sapienza University of Roma 5) Chapters regarding Thermal Medicine and its therapeutical applications are included in the most important italian textbooks of Internal Medicine: Trattato Italiano di Medicina Interna – Teodori, Società Editrice Universo, Roma, 2004 and Strumenti di Medicina Interna-Terapia Medica, a cura di Negri M., UTET, Torino, 2011.