After the COVID 19 outbreak in Italy: What have we learnt?

First and foremost, it is essential to establish an Internal Crisis Unit for emergency management focused on the analysis of epidemiologic data and related information. A close collaboration between hospital management and distribution centers is essential for drafting a practical supply plan to ensure availability of those materials/devices. [...]a computerized, user friendly, Health Information System for the management of beds is essential to guarantee the availability of real-time, thorough and complete data. In summary, based on our experience, key points for any given hospital to properly manage the on-going SARS-CoV-2 pandemic are: a) early establishment of the Internal Crisis Unit; b) careful evaluation of hospital infrastructure and potential re-purpose of areas to create new care units; c) training staff in the use of PPE; e) providing psychological support to the staff; f) providing proper communication between care providers, patients, and their families.Authors' contributions GDF and FA conceived the study.