Italian Ministry of Health: Integrated Information System

Since 1997, the Italian system of health care has moved toward a decentralized model that gives regional authorities greater responsibility for organizing health-related services and activities in their territories. The decentralized model places more information-gathering responsibilities on local health authorities and hospitals, which are required to collect all patient information.

The Italian Ministry of Health—which uses information from regional and local providers to manage the national health plan, allocate funding and define clinical and accreditation guidelines—recognized the need for a coordinated approach to ensure optimal data quality and information-sharing. Specifically, it wanted to replace its existing health care information system with a new technical architecture that would drive better market analyses and benchmarking activities.

Accenture helped develop a global information system that would integrate a number of independent regional and local systems to meet national, as well as regional, objectives.

To date, Accenture has implemented more than 25 new information management applications focusing on data solutions related to pharmaceuticals, medical devices, health planning and health professions.

The reengineered system transforms the way the ministry acquires and validates data. It introduces a new, more efficient, conceptual health care model, designed in collaboration with regional and local health authorities. And it provides a physical data warehouse on which it will be possible for the ministry to build new reporting and statistical systems.

The Italian Ministry of Health has a new global information management capability that integrates individuals’ health information from regional, local and national systems.

With this solution, the ministry is improving its data integrity, as well as its ability to monitor the cost and level of quality of Italy’s health care network. It can generate insights that will not only help drive the national health service’s strategic agenda and lower costs associated with health care delivery, but also influence the creation of similar data management solutions for other public administration entities, including the Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Innovation and Technology.

The Accenture-led solution is helping to position the Italian Ministry of Health as a leader in European health care oversight and delivery.