Strategic management in the Italian NHS: the implementation of the "cost-cutting" plans for regional health services

At present, a number of regions in Italy have to face a negative healthcare budget balance. The negative balances have accumulated over several years and they have now become a significant financial burden for many districts and several regions have thus introduced cost-cutting plans. This paper aims to examine the extent to which these plans match current trends in strategic planning for healthcare organizations (local healthcare agencies and hospital agencies) and how regional cost-cutting plans can be implemented successfully on a micro level. In order to evaluate the actual impacts, an innovative methodological approach known as “System thinking/System Dynamics analysis and modelling” has been used: It enables strategic modelling of non-linear relationships within complex organizations and may prove particularly useful for promoting effective management solutions.