La salute e le comunità. Riflessioni sul percorso di riforma del sistema sanitario

The Covid-19 pandemic has been a key factor in rethinking health care systems, including in Italy and other wealthier countries. In Italy, the territorialization of services represents among others one of the directions of a paradigm shift. This is not the only way to renew the system: among others, it is important to mention digitization and so-called e-health, but also the personalization of care. In general, the specific limitation of the Italian National Health System (SSN) can be identified in the need for a recalibration toward local policies and a redefinition of the governance model, rethinking the relationship between the national and subnational levels (State and Regions). This article aims to help explore what is meant when we talk about health services for a territory and why this is an appropriate response to the challenges that emerged during the pandemic. The directions of the necessary change, in short, can be identified in the rejection of the hospital-centric model and in a more complex definition of health in general, which identifies it as a condition to which different policies (the welfare system as a whole) contribute and not an exclusive interest of a few professionals.