Background In recent years, accreditation of private hospitals followed by decentralisation of the Italian National Health Service (NHS) into 21 regional health systems has provided a good empirical ground for investigating the Tiebout principle of “voting with their feet”. We examine the infra-regional trade-off between greater patient choice (due to an increase in hospital services supply) an...

This article reviews how Italian National Health Service (NHS) pediatricians have tried to fulfill the obligations of modern primary care providers in a managed care environment, with special reference to the experience of the Veneto region in Italy and compares this situation with the present changes of the health system in the United States. Italian NHS primary care pediatricians work indepen...

This commentary explores some of the issues raised by Gilbert et al.short communication, Morality and Markets in the NHS. The increasing role of market mechanisms and the changing types of healthcare providers together with the use of choice and competition to drive improvements in quality in the National Health Service (NHS), all have important ethical implications. In order for the NHS to con...

Since its establishment in 1948, the history of the National Health Service (NHS) has been characterized by organisational turbulence and system reform. At the same time, progress in science, medicine and technology throughout the western world have revolutionized the delivery of healthcare. The NHS has become a much loved, if much critiqued, national treasure. It is against this backdrop that ...

The death of the English National Health Service (NHS) may be slow in coming but that does not mean that it is not the Conservative-led UK government’s desired end state. The government is displaying tactical cunning in achieving its long-term purpose to remould the British state. Powell seeks greater clarity amidst the confusion but the lack of clarity is a principal weapon in the government’s...

Recent disclosures of failures of care in the National Health Service (NHS) in England have led to debates about compassion deficits disallowing health professionals to provide high quality responsive care. While the link between high quality care and compassion is often taken for granted, it is less obvious how compassion – often originating in the individual’s emotional response – can become ...

This is a commentary on Gilbert and colleagues’ (1) paper on morality and markets in the National Health Service (NHS). Morality and values are not ephemeral qualities and universal healthcare is not simply an aspiration; it has to be enshrined in law. The creation of the UK NHS in 1948 was underpinned by core legal duties which required a system of public funding and delivery to follow. The mo...

Background Recent British National Health Service (NHS) reforms, in response to austerity and alleged ‘health tourism,’ could impose additional barriers to healthcare access for non-European Economic Area (EEA) migrants. This study explores policy reform challenges and implications, using excerpts from the perspectives of non-EEA migrants and health advocates in London.   Methods A qualitative ...

In their study, Brenna and Spandonaro analyzed the mobility into Italian regions. In particular, it analyzes the situation of 5 regions, with very different backgrounds. With this paper, we try to better define the meaning of health mobility and to find its underlying causes. Furthermore, we propose a strategy that could help in controlling mobility flows that currently are the source of health...