Hospital patients mobility trends among the Italian regions: 1998-2008

Background The health mobility is an increasingly debated issue in the European arena under the European Union directive on cross-border patients migration. The Italian health system, due to its characteristics of administrative and fiscal federalism, is well suited to the analysis of the dynamics of interregional flows of patients. Our study aims to analyze time series patients’mobility among the 21 among Italian regions. Methods We used hospital discharge data obtained from the Ministry of Health, ranging from 1998 to …