LE LINEE GUIDA NELLA PATOLOGIA FORENSE TRA PASSATO E FUTURO; QUALI INDICAZIONI PER L’ATTIVITÀ AUTOPTICA?

The Gelli-Bianco law, anticipated by the Balduzzi law and even before by constant jurisprudence of the Supreme Court, has placed particular emphasis on the relevance ofGuidelines as a tool to obtain from health professionals behaviors adhering to the dictates of international scientific literature and Evidence Based Medicine. The topic, of specific interest for health professionals directly involved in diagnostic- therapeutic-assistance activities, is important also for medico-legal professionals, explicitly referred to in the art. 5 of the aforementioned law. Even those who practice forensic pathology and in particular post-mortem activities as autopsies must therefore refer to the recommendations provided for by the guidelines, whose development is the duty of scientific societies. The application and regulatory references to autopsy practice date back in the past, but new contributions, in the form of guidelines, have also recently been developed; they require adequate knowledge by the operators in the autopsy field and by the Judicial Authority.