La ponderazione della quota capitaria in base a fattori di deprivazione: suggerimenti per l Italia dall esperienza scozzese

Empirical evidence shows that health need and health care access depend, among other factors,on socioeconomic variables.Weighting the healthcare capitation system with a deprivation index would achieve equity in resource allocation in the Italian Nhs. The Scottish Nhs healthcare funding allocation formula includes a recently approved deprivation index, named Arbuthnott index, which allows for differentials in health care access due to relative poverty. Following the Scottish experience, this paper proposes a deprivation index based on regional data for weighting the Italian capitation formula. Key words. Deprivation indices, health care need, resource allocation, weighted capitation