[A resources-activities analysis in cardiology: a report on Piemonte experience. The Cardiology Network of the Piemonte Section of the Associazione Nazionale Medici Cardiologi Ospedalieri].

We are living in an era characterized by cost-containment. Thus, expenditure for the health system represents one of the most important items of the national balance. Nowadays, the optimal management of health organization is essential. In addition, patients expect hospitals to provide more and more effective and efficient cures. With respect to this need, in order to achieve high standard of health cure, the identification of work and the time that the medical departments dedicate to a specific therapeutic and/or diagnostic procedure represent a fundamental tool for the optimal management of patients. However, to provide reliable results, these data should be collected in the largest number of structures possible. For this purpose, 17 departments of cardiology have organized a network with the goal of creating the most important data base on this matter available in Italy. The evaluation of the data obtained (more than 8000 medical procedures) allows us to identify the resources normally used for curing patients admitted to cardiological departments. These provide an extensive view of the work load in the Public Health Services fundamental to implementing a health service in accordance with the criteria of Total Quality Management. The present paper illustrates the scope of this study and the methods used to create the data base. In addition, it discusses some cultural aspects related to the introduction of managerial criteria in the medical arena. The detailed results, regarding the items analyzed, will be presented in a special paper.