FROM AMENABLE MORTALITY INDEX TO NO BLAME CULTURE: IMPROVE HEALTH CARE IN ITALY

The main aim of the study is to critically analyze the impact of defense medicine in the Italian healthcare system, considering the rapid spread of this phenomenon in the last years and its influence in the everyday medical practice. The authors use the Amenable Mortality Index (i.e. the number of premature deaths which could have been avoided in individuals younger than 74 years of age) to rate the performance status of the analyzed healthcare system and to compare different countries and Italian regions. The result of the study is that the Italian health system is valid, despite the economic difficulties of the last years, but much can be done to ameliorate its status. In fact, the authors want to promote a “no-blame culture” as an important factor for the overall improvement of the NHS, focusing only on patients’ health.