Is variation management included in regional healthcare governance systems? Some proposals from Italy

The healthcare service in Italy: regional variability.

The Italian health system is highly decentralized, with most administrative and organizational powers governed by Regions and rather limited powers at national level. The state has full control over the definition of the core benefit package (LEA) but there is evidence that the actual provision of these services varies greatly across Regions.

Regional Variation in Informal Employment: Skills, Norms, and Governance*

Informal economic activity across countries has been studied thoroughly in the empirical literature, but little research addresses the sources of variation in informality on the sub-national level. This paper analyzes reasons for regional variation in informal employment. It develops a theoretical model, which predicts that worker skill endowment, quality of local governance, and social norms a...

Surveillance of healthcare-associated infections in Piemonte, Italy: results from a second regional prevalence study

BACKGROUND A prevalence survey of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) was previously performed in the Piemonte region in 2000. In the decade following the survey, many studies were performed at both the regional and hospital levels, and training courses were developed to address issues highlighted by the survey. In 2010, a second regional prevalence study was performed. The aim of this pape...

Benchmarking in healthcare: management tool or mechanism of governance?

Regional governance: strategies and disputes in health region management

OBJECTIVE To analyze the regional governance of the health systemin relation to management strategies and disputes. METHODOLOGICAL PROCEDURES A qualitative study with health managers from 19 municipalities in the health region of Bahia, Northeastern Brazil. Data were drawn from 17 semi-structured interviews of state, regional, and municipal health policymakers and managers; a focus group; obs...