Not Only Funding: How Healthcare Organizations Can Contribute to National Health Service Sustainability

Healthcare organizations struggle to provide adequate assistance because of the scarcity of resources affecting National Health Systems (NHS) worldwide. It is necessary to find strategies to make the NHS sustainable. Funding cannot always be leveraged, and new variables need to be found. It is asked: What can and should be done in single health organizations to improve the efficacy of the NHS? To answer, several CEOs of Italian hospitals were interviewed. Results suggest that there is a widespread need for improvement of organizational aspects of professionals’ responsibilities, better coordination between health professionals, and in-service training. Several conclusions can be sketched by the analysis of interviews. Current possible NHS problems, as well as practical suggestions on how to improve it, are offered. Bureaucracy, slow decisional processes, and weak reward systems are seen as demons to fight. How? Reforming the regulation system, valorizing professional competencies, and placing stronger emphasis on organizations’ commitment.