{"id":111497,"date":"2023-11-02T08:51:23","date_gmt":"2023-11-02T07:51:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bbs.unibo.it\/?post_type=ricerca&p=111497"},"modified":"2024-11-26T16:27:56","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T15:27:56","slug":"the-perceived-goal-importance-and-access-to-performance-information-an-analysis-in-the-italian-healthcare-context","status":"publish","type":"ricerca","link":"https:\/\/www.bbs.unibo.it\/en\/research\/the-perceived-goal-importance-and-access-to-performance-information-an-analysis-in-the-italian-healthcare-context\/","title":{"rendered":"The perceived goal importance and access to performance information: an analysis in the Italian healthcare context"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the multifaceted world of Italian healthcare, performance measurement has become a topic of growing importance, often met with skepticism by medical professionals. This skepticism is fueled by the perception that Performance Measurement Systems (PMS) are disconnected from the actual tasks of physicians and their professional values. The recent study \u201c<\/span>Perceived goal importance, knowledge and accessibility of performance information: Testing mediation and moderation effects on medical professionals\u2019 achievement of performance targets\u201d<\/span><\/i>, conducted by Antonella Cifalin\u00f2 (Centre for Research and Study in Healthcare Management – CERISMAS, Universit\u00e0 Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy), Daniele Mascia (Department of Business and Management, Luiss University, Rome, Italy), Gabriele Morandin (Bologna Business School, Italy) and Emanuele Vendramini (Faculty of Economics and Law, Universit\u00e0 Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Piacenza, Italy), challenges this view by exploring how perceptions of the importance of goals and the accessibility of performance information can actually influence the achievement of individual performance goals among physicians.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Italian National Healthcare System (I-NHS), on which the study is focused, provides a particularly interesting context for understanding the dynamics of performance measurement systems (PMS) among general practitioners (GPs). The I-NHS is organized according to a multilevel framework: at the national level, the Ministry of Health is responsible for achieving the broader goals of the system. Regions are responsible for service delivery through Local Health Authorities (<\/span>ASL<\/span><\/i> in Italian), population-based organizations that provide primary care to residents through their facilities. At the local level, each ASL sets its own strategies, priorities and organizational goals on an annual basis. <\/span><\/p>\n

Italian general practitioners play the role of “gatekeepers” in the I-NHS, determining who receives access to specialist and hospital care, and are also responsible for prescribing medications. Their high degree of autonomy and geographic distribution has generally limited their communication and coordination with colleagues, as well as their organizational identification. A regional reform introduced in 2007 sought to promote collaboration and integration among GPs through the formation of primary care hubs (<\/span>NCP <\/span><\/i>in Italian). In this general context, the survey was conducted on a sample of general practitioners working for a specific ASL located in one of the best performing regions in the I-NHS. This ASL provides health services to more than 432,000 individuals and has a long tradition of innovative managerial and organizational models in primary care.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The sample consisted of 128 completed questionnaires, with a response rate of 55.6 percent. Variables such as gender, management background and NCP affiliation were considered as controls. The statistical analysis uses SPSS Process Macro Model 7 to test the hypotheses. The theoretical framework of the study is based on a body of literature that has explored the impact of PMSs on individual cognitive processes such as the – process, learning, and self-monitoring. Previous studies have shown that the effectiveness of PMSs depends largely on how professionals perceive and use performance information. In particular, professionals in the public sector, such as physicians, tend to respond more to professional values than to managerial authority.<\/span><\/p>\n

The article makes two basic sets of hypotheses:<\/span><\/p>\n