[Uniformity and comparability of national Health Information Systems for home care, nursing homes, and hospices in Italy].

Background: Health Information Systems (HIS) play a strategic role in the development of community healthcare services, a field still underdeveloped in Italy as shown by the COVID-19 pandemic, and their use for epidemiological purposes is increasing over the years. However, some general critical issues have been reported concerning national community health information systems, but no detailed study was found after a non-systematic review in Medline database and institutional websites.

Objectives: to assess uniformity and comparability of health information collected by the national health information Systems for Home Care (SIAD), Nursing Homes (FAR), and Hospices (HOS) in Italy, three healthcare settings sharing patients with common conditions and healthcare needs.

[Research, training and community links in today's hospitals].

The role of hospitals in research, medical training and their relationship with the community is challenged by socio-economical, epidemiological, demographic and technological changes western health care systems are facing today. This paper enhances that: 1. beside the experimental, high tech and biotechnological model of research, there is still a great need for studies in areas such as: doctor-patient relationship, disability, access to care and patient satisfaction; 2.