Italy: Health System Review

Health Syst Transit. 2022 Dec;24(4):1-236.ABSTRACTThis analysis of the Italian health system reviews recent developments in organization and governance, health financing, health care provision, health reforms and health system performance. Italy has a regionalized National Health Service (SSN) that provides universal coverage largely free of charge at the point of delivery, though certain services and goods require a co-payment. Life expectancy in Italy is historically among the highest in the EU. However, regional differences in health indicators are marked, as well as in per capita spending, distribution of health professionals and in the quality of health services. Overall, Italy's health spending per capita is lower than the EU average and is among the lowest in western European countries. Private spending has increased in recent years, although this trend was halted in 2020 during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A key focus of health policies in recent decades was to promote a shift away from unnecessary inpatient care, with a considerable reduction of acute hospital beds and stagnating overall growth in health personnel. However, this was not counterbalanced by a sufficient strengthening of community services in order to cope with the ageing population's needs and related chronic conditions burden. This had important repercussions during the COVID-19 emergency, as the health system felt the impact of previous reductions in hospital beds and capacity an...
Source: Health systems in transition - Category: Health Management Authors: Source Type: news