[The reform of the Italian Health Service: some concerns]

The new Italian health care reform (law 229/99) introduces relevant structural changes promoting a central role of the state government. We describe the reasons for concern caused by this administration strategy, owing also to the recent need for reforming the old state-centered health care service with new management models introduced by law 502/92. We emphasize the importance of a distinction between the role of physicians and their professional organizations on one side and the role of the administrative institutions on the other, in order to develop a health care system which operates correctly. We discuss the role of guidelines and scientific societies.