[Relaunching primary healthcaree]

The health environment today is characterized by diffuse inequalities, the emergence of chronic diseases, and the introduction of new technologies, all of which, together with other factors are leading to a healthcare system that is becoming increasingly less sustainable from a financial point of view. Primary healthcare, public health and hospitals should work together to define a comprehensive healthcare delivery model characterized by continuity of care, information and management. The proposed model of disease management, in particular of chronic diseases, must reorganize health services around the needs of citizens and the community and involve patients and their families in the disease management process, by promoting self-help groups and patient organizations that cooperate with health services. In order to put this change into effect, evidence-based medicine and evidence-based practice need to be adopted. From an organizational point of view, it will be important to change wage rules, so as to implement a new payment system based upon performance. In this new contest, physicians specialized in hygiene and public health can play an important role that includes leadership, governance and coordination. By integrating the concepts of accountability, community intervention and training, we can acquire the tools to change the current hospital-based system to a new model of primary healthcare that works together with the community to move the focus from healthcare provider to patient.