EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE OF HEALTH SYSTEMS THROUGH "TARGET" METHOD: DATA PRESENTED BY TUSCANY REGION

In 2015 health care system in Tuscany, on the whole, maintained, or rather improved its high-level performance. The evaluation system that uses the “Target” method designed by MeS, Management and Health Laboratory of the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, gives evidence of the results presented by Lab. Director Sabina Nuti and the Regional Health Councillor for Tuscany Stefania Saccardi, to companies representatives and institutions personalities gathered in the main hall of the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna. However, these data are preliminary and examined 65 percent of indicators used by the MeS Laboratory to evaluate health care in Tuscany. The final results will be available at the end of May 2016; we expect next month to compare the performance of our regional health system with those of other regions participating in the network which use the “target” method of the MeS Laboratory.

The “target” method is a tried and tested model. Over the years, the MeS Laboratory, on behalf of Tuscany Region, evaluated the performance of Tuscan (and other regions) health care districts using 300 indicators.

On the basis of the assessment carried out until 8 April 2016, trends show improvement in 64 percent of cases. In the past, companies had achieved excellent results, and today figure is even higher. For all companies most of the objectives are achieved in the central areas of the target, the green and yellow ones, and only a few targets are placed in the outer bands, orange and red. Indicators which show improvement were far more numerous than those measuring the impact of decline. This year there is also a substantial reduction in the variability within the same region of Tuscany, with much more consistent results in the different companies.

A summary of the data is available at Tuscany News Service.