Lombardy, Emilia Romagna and Lazio are the favorite destinations in Italy for the 'journeys of hope' of Italians. Campania is bad. This is what emerges from the study on regional healthcare mobility, examined by Cergas Bocconi in the 2006 Oasi Report, which shows how these regions are the ones that most attract patients from outside.
As the researchers point out, in a healthcare system with caps on the volumes of services and expenditure for residents, the game is also played on the ability to attract patients from other regions. In the balance between income and expenditure, it is precisely the Lombardy area that scores the most significant result. Out of 100 people who move from one region to another to be hospitalized, 20 choose Lombardy (which 'exports' just 8 out of 100), 13 Emilia Romagna (from which 6 out of 100 leave) and 11 Lazio (which 'loses' 9 out of 100). The positive balance is also followed by Veneto (8 per cent incoming and 5 per cent outgoing) and Tuscany (7.5 per cent compared to 4 per cent). Campania is one of the regions with a negative balance: 11 per cent of patients who travel for treatment come from this region, while the ability to attract from outside does not exceed 3 per cent of total mobility.
There would be two reasons that justify such a positive balance for Lombardy, according to Eugenio Anessi Pessina, scientific director of the Oasi Report. “First of all – explains the expert – the number of bed places in Lombardy is greater, since the population is greater. But the positive result is also and above all given by the concentration in the region of most of the Italian centers of excellence. The difference is that in Lazio the attractiveness is concentrated in a few particularly requested structures, while in Lombardy it is more the system as a whole that is attractive”.
