The contribution of "spontaneous" health care networks to improving outcomes: Opportunities and challenges from the perspective of planning and control systems

The article aims to explore how Planning Control systems may support network-oriented policy-making in the health care sector. This work examines the case of ISMETT (Mediterranean Institute for high specialized transplants and therapies), a Sicilian hospital established in 1998 to provide high specialized and complex transplants and therapies. ISMETT pertains to several networks and it has a long-time experience in establishing and governing such inter-organizational relationships. The analysis of the case illustrates how health care networks may contribute to improve health and generate social and economic outcomes for the community.