The aim of this paper is to analyse hospitals’ response to the Diagnosis Related Groups-based prospective payment system in its first year of implementation in Italy. It investigates the short-term variations of the average length of stay, the case flow, the occupancy rate, and the rate of...

Patient satisfaction has become an important indicator of process quality inside hospitals. Even so, the improvement of patient satisfaction cannot simply follow from the implementation of new incentives schemes and organisational arrangements; it also depends on hospitals' cultures and...

<i> La valutazione degli stati di salute sulla base delle preferenze individuali: un'analisi delle risposte incoerenti </i> (di Carmela Di Mauro, Maria Daniela Giammanco) - ABSTRACT: When building QALYs (Quality-adjusted Life Years), the crucial element is the valuation of health state utilities. The...