Performance evaluation and value assesment for cardiovascular and oncological care paths in a regional network context: challenges and opportunities

Maximising the value created for patients and for the population served with the resources available is the most relevant goal of public healthcare system. Creating value for patients depends on the capacity to provide care overcoming the logic of settings of care in favour of a comprehensive path approach, which include patient needs/ preferences. To support the stakeholders involved in the healthcare system in achieving this goal, i.e. clinicians, patients, managers and policy makers, a multidimensional performance evaluation system coupled with audit trails should be developed in order to address avoidable variation in clinical practice, facilitate the introduction and compliance of clinical guidelines and, therefore, enhance the value creation along the range of treatments especially for complex conditions (e.g. oncology, neurology, cardiovascular diseases).The performance of care paths should be constantly monitored to rapidly incorporate improvements into clinical routine.