Health at a Glance

Health at a Glance: EUROPE 2014
How does Italy compare?
KEY FINDINGS
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Italy's indicators of health status and quality of care remain among the best in the
EU.
Italy spent 9.2% of its GDP on health in 2012, slightly more than the EU average of
8.7%, but much less than the Netherlands, France and Germany which are all
allocating over 11% of their GDP to health spending.
While spending on pharmaceuticals has been reduced in Italy in recent years, further
efforts are needed to reduce high rate of antibiotics prescriptions which poses a
serious threat to public health.
Improvements in health status and quality of care
Life expectancy has continued to increase in Italy in recent years and is second highest among the
EU countries after Spain. Life expectancy at birth in Italy reached 82.4 years in 2012, more than three
years above the EU average (79.2 years).
One of the factors that have contributed to the continued rise in life expectancy in Italy may be good
quality of care for life-threatening conditions. Health at a Glance: Europe 2014 shows, for example,
that mortality rates following a hospital admission for a heart attack or stroke have been reduced
significantly in Italy over the past decade and were amongst the lowest in the EU in 2011.
There have also been improvements in the management of chronic conditions such as asthma and
diabetes in Italy, as reflected by a reduction in hospital admission rates for these conditions in recent
years. This indicates better management of these chronic conditions in the primary care sector
(outside hospital) and fewer complications requiring hospitalisation.
Health expenditure
Total health spending accounted for 9.2% of GDP in Italy in 2012, slightly more than the EU average
of 8.7%, but well below the Netherlands (11.8%), France (11.6%) and Germany (11.3%).
As in many other EU countries, the share of GDP allocated to health in Italy reached a peak right after
the start of the economic crisis as GDP fell more rapidly than health spending, but it has come down
slightly since then as health expenditure per capita has declined in recent years.
Health expenditure as a share of GDP, 2000-12, selected European countries
France
Italy
EU28
12
Germany
United Kingdom
% GDP
10
8
6
4
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
Source: OECD Health Statistics 2014.
Pharmaceutical consumption
As in most other EU countries, spending on pharmaceuticals has been cut in recent years in Italy
through a series of measures, including the implementation of tighter pharmaceutical budgets for
regions, reductions in wholesale and pharmacy margins, and price cuts on generics based on
reference pricing.
However, Italy’s failure to reduce the prescription of antibiotics over the past decade is a concern.
The consumption of antibiotics in Italy in 2011 was one-third higher than the EU average, and more
than two-times higher than in the Netherlands. The over-use of antibiotics is a growing public health
issue in Italy and other countries, as it increases the prevalence of resistant bacterial strains, which in
turn reduces the effectiveness of conventional treatment, resulting in prolonged illness, greater risk of
death, and higher costs.
Overall volume of antibiotics prescribed, 2011
DDDs per 1000 population, per day
35.1
40
29.0
28.7
16.5
22.3
23.8
23.4
23.2
22.6
21.9
20.4
20.1
19.5
19.0
18.8
14.7
14.5
14.4
14.3
14.1
13.0
12.8
12.1
15
11.4
20
18.5
17.4
25
20.9
30
27.6
27.6
32.0
35
10
5
0
More information on Health at a Glance: EUROPE 2014 is available at
http://www.oecd.org/els/health-at-a-glance-europe-23056088.htm.
For more information on OECD's work on Italy, please visit http://www.oecd.org/italy.