Target: Healthcare

FOUNDED OVER 40 YEARS AGO, CERGAS IS ONE OF BOCCONI'S HISTORIC RESEARCH CENTERS. IT STILL FOCUSES ON HEALTH MANAGEMENT, LIKE AT THE BEGINNING, BUT IT IS PROJECTED INTO THE FUTURE

CERGAS (the Center for Research on Health and Social Care Management) was established in 1978 – the same year as the foundation of the Italian National Health Service – with the aim of conducting basic and applied research in health management. “We have never abandoned this focus, but over the past 40 years we have broadened the horizons of our research to include international contexts. Health economics, health and social policy have been added to health management,” explains Aleksandra Torbica, Associate Professor in the Department of Social and Political Sciences and Director of CERGAS since 2017.
 
"Rigorous from a methodological point of view and focused on practical issues, in recent years our research has generated innovation in the scientific communities of reference and in the functioning of health systems in the real world." Torbica is very keen to point out this connection and impact with the real world. "The goal is to carry out relevant research at an international level, while in Italy CERGAS has long been the privileged partner of many public and private health institutions and organizations."
 
CERGAS has around 45 affiliates, 20% of which are made up of professors from the University faculty. There are also several observatories, including: OASI (Observatory on Healthcare Organizations and Policies in Italy); OSFAR (Pharmaceutical Observatory); OLTC (Observatory on Long Term Care) and OCPS (Observatory on Privately Financed Health Consumption).
 
“Each observatory continuously monitors several fundamental issues,” says the Director, “and also produces research, reports and publications. To give an example, one of our research center's key actions is the OASI Report that has been produced every year since 2000. It observes, analyzes and evaluates the functioning of the health service at various levels, from local organizations to the Ministry. The OASI Report is then presented to a wide-ranging audience of academics, policy makers and other people working in the sector as part of a conference organized at the University, which attracts an average of more than 1,000 participants every year.”
 
There are also analyses making comparisons with the health systems of other countries, “which represent a way to get involved at the international level and avoid being self-referential,” says Torbica.
 
One of CERGAS's relatively new areas of activity is that of Global Health, the area of study, research and practice that prioritizes improving the health and functioning of health systems in low- and middle-income contexts. “During my term I would like to increasingly expand this line of research, as I believe we must make our skills available to contribute to achieving equity in health for all people around the world,” continues Aleksandra Torbica. “I am very proud that CERGAS has already taken the first important steps in this field of research and has obtained significant recognition, including, for instance, important funding from internationally prestigious institutions such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Global Fund.”

by Davide Ripamonti
Translated by Jenna Walker