[Cost methodologies in dialysis in relation to the Italian National Health Service]

This work analyses the economic aspects of dialysis in Italy in relation to government resources allocated to the health service in general. The authors illustrate the procedures used to estimate the resources required by the dialytic programme. The costs of dialytic programmes in different cities and at different periods in the history of the Italian health service are compared. A concrete example is outlined of the economic management of dialysis and the authors demonstrate how the results were obtained using cost analysis.