"SEEKING PERFORMANCE-BASED ACCOUNTABILITY IN ITALIAN PUBLIC HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS"

Domenico Raucci,Stefano Agostinone,Tomasz Dyczkowski

doi:10.24193/tras.63e.8

Abstract

"Using content and cluster analysis and considering a time span of five years, this study examines the adoption and compliance level of Performance-Based Accountability (PBA) in the Italian Local Healthcare Authorities (LHAs) under the Legislative Decree no. 150/2009. The results showed a barely sufficient level of PBA compliance. Higher levels of citizen involvement in PBA processes, the commitment of Regions, and integration with other accountability systems are three conditions for improving the effectiveness and usefulness for stakeholders of this NPM reform for LHAs."

Highlights

Reforms inspired by the New Public Management (NPM) principles have reshaped public sectors and, in particular, the healthcare sector (Andrews, Beynon and McDermott, 2019)
Using content and cluster analysis and considering a time span of five years, this study examines the adoption and compliance level of Performance-Based Accountability (PBA) in the Italian Local Healthcare Authorities (LHAs) under the Legislative Decree no. 150/2009
The PBA processes assume an effective operation of the underlying performance management systems, the adoption of which is the legacy of NPM reforms implemented in the public sector (Arnaboldi, Lapsley and Steccolini, 2015)

Summary

Introduction

Reforms inspired by the New Public Management (NPM) principles have reshaped public sectors and, in particular, the healthcare sector (Andrews, Beynon and McDermott, 2019). The direct impact of the latter on the well-being of citizens together with vast public resources invested in it increased the attention of public healthcare organizations (PHOs) to performance management and accountability systems (Mattei et al, 2013; Anessi-Pessina and Cantù, 2016), framed in the public management literature (Pollit, 2018). ‘Managing for results’ requires manifesting effectiveness, efficiency and transparency in achieving results, which expresses the managerial autonomy attributed to public organizations (Borgonovi, Anessi-Pessina and Bianchi, 2018) In this framework, the PBA processes assume an effective operation of the underlying performance management systems, the adoption of which is the legacy of NPM reforms implemented in the public sector (Arnaboldi, Lapsley and Steccolini, 2015)

Results

Discussion

Conclusion