We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Pediatric interregional healthcare mobility in Italy.
- Authors
De Curtis, Mario; Bortolan, Francesco; Diliberto, Davide; Villani, Leonardo
- Abstract
Background: The analysis of interregional healthcare mobility represents one of the main criteria for evaluating Regional Healthcare Systems, both in terms of its economic-financial relevance and the quality and satisfaction of the services provided. The aim of the study is to analyze healthcare mobility and its associated cost in Italy in 2019 for all children ≤ 14 years of age. Methods: We collected data from the "Rapporto annuale sull'attività di ricovero ospedaliero – Dati SDO 2019" published by the Italian Ministry of Health. These data represent the tool for collecting information relating to all hospitalization services provided in accredited public and private hospitals present throughout the national territory. We collected data for all Italian regions and clustered them in two geographical areas: Center-North regions and South regions (including Sicily and Sardinia). We have analyzed the magnitude of the mobility of children among regions and in particular from the South to the Center-North and the relative cost of this interregional mobility. Results: The hospitalization rate of children residing in the South regions was higher than that of children residing in the Center-North regions (13.9% vs 12.3%). Children residing in the South were more frequently treated in other regions than those living in the Center-North (11.9% vs 6.9%). Even considering the high complexity hospitalizations, children living in the South more frequently underwent treatment in other regions (21.3% vs 10.5% of the Center-North). The cost of passive mobility amounts to € 103.9 million for the South regions (15.1% of the total hospitalizations' expenditure) and the 87.1% of this cost refers to the mobility to the hospitals of Center-North. The cost of healthcare migration from South regions to other South regions was much lower (12.9%, equal to € 13.4 million). Conclusions: Healthcare mobility, while affecting all Italian regions, is particularly relevant in the South regions and indicates a lack of pediatric care, which should be strengthened by creating services that are currently not evenly distributed throughout the territory.
- Subjects
ITALY; MEDICAL quality control; HEALTH services accessibility; TRAVEL; PEDIATRICS; MEDICAL care costs; POPULATION geography; MEDICAL care use; HOSPITAL care; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; HEALTH care rationing
- Publication
Italian Journal of Pediatrics, 2021, Vol 47, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
1720-8424
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1186/s13052-021-01091-8