Ricerc@Sapienza

Among the numerous humankind problems, healthcare represents a key issue to manage. Various managing systems are implemented reflecting different views, approaches and the socio-economic conditions of the country (Glouberman and Mintzberg, 1996; Plsek & Wilson, 2001; Wendt, 2009; Swayne et al., 2012). However, a fundamental problem affects almost every healthcare system: managing the trade-off between the need to deliver effective healthcare services and the need to control expenses and to ensure the overall sustainability of the system (France et al., 2005).

Healthcare represents a key issue for management in every country. A fundamental problem affects almost every healthcare system: the trade-off between the need to deliver effective healthcare services and the need to control expenses and to ensure the overall sustainability of the system. This problem is a clear expression of management complexity in healthcare systems.

Healthcare is one of the largest business segments in the world and is a critical area for future growth. In order to ensure efficient access to medical and patient-related information, hospitals have invested heavily in improving clinical mobile technologies and spreading their use among doctors towards a more efficient and personalized delivery of care procedures. However, there are also indications that their use may have a negative impact on patient-centeredness and often places many cognitive and physical demands on doctors, making them prone to make medical errors.

Healthcare industries have seen recent movements towards continuous improvement for patient’s satisfaction, especially after the decision of regulators to shift towards a more market-driven approach. Therefore, healthcare organizations have been started to focus on customers’ needs to create value and increase their service quality. Although it is apparent that perceptions of service quality are based on multiple dimensions, there is no general agreement regarding their creation.