[The key role of mediation in the medical malpractice litigation]

The increase of disputes in the medical liability field is stressing, for the majority of physicians, the concern about a forthcoming crisis of the whole National Health System. The Courts do not represent a hundred percent valuable solution for the medical malpractice matter. As a matter of fact, the evidence shows that the traditional legal dispute instrument jeopardizes the good effect of the physician-patient relationship and it delays the achievement of the reimbursement. On the contrary, the negotiation procedure allows a more open dialogue between the patient and the physician and it improves the health service standards. On 20th March 2010 the mandatory mediation dispute procedure has been introduced in Italy. Such a legislative innovation highlights the content and the key aspects of a law that could represent a real revolution within the Italian health System.