Public privare prtnership in health and pilot experiences. An empirical analysis

The identification of new forms of organization and management for improving the conditions of the health system finds in public-private partnerships a viable answer. A major reorganization process of health care organizations seems necessary, to be carried out through the introduction of new governance approaches and management tools that might serve to deliver high quality health care, in conditions of maximum efficiency and effectiveness. The issue has been the focus of a lively debate in Italy and worldwide for some years now. This paper aims at investigating the phenomenon of public-private partnerships in healthcare, analyzing the most relevant issues with a view to understanding the effectiveness of these tools in relation to their purposes, the conditions affecting results, the limitations and opportunities that characterize them. In order to provide a better understanding of the subject of research, it has been deemed appropriate to analyze some practical experiences of public-private partnerships, and specifically the initiatives carried out in Lombardy which, for size and features, seem to represent an interesting sample for the purposes of the study.