Healthcare in Italy

Hospitals

In 2022, there were 1.107 hospitals in Italy.

995 were either “public hospitals” (507) or “accredited private hospitals” (488) within the National Health Service (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale – SSN), while 112 were “not-accredited private hospitals” and operate outside the SSN.

Find out more about hospitals in Italy:

• 71% of public hospitals are run by Local Health Authorities (ASL), which are independent public organizations. They organize and provide healthcare services within their territory through public hospitals and accredited private clinics. 16% are Independent Hospitals (Aziende Ospedaliere) with a high level of specialization in specific medical areas and 13% are University Hospitals.
• 44% of public and “accredited private hospitals” (SSN hospitals) are medium-size hospitals (121-400 beds). 28% are big-size (400+ beds) and 16% of them have more than 600 beds. 12% are small-size hospitals and one third of them are in the Center-South, while the vast majority of medium and big hospitals are in the Center-North, particularly in the regions of Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Liguria, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany and Lazio.
• 55% of SSN hospitals have an emergency department, 13% of which are also specialized for children, and 62% of them have an intensive care unit.
• Hospital admissions for residents over 65 years of age increased 9% between 2009 and 2022, and there is a sslight increase of total admissions for the whole population (2.1%).

In 2022, the total number of hospital beds for acute patients was 214.800, which correspond to 4.0 beds per 1,000 population: 20.5% of inpatients beds were available in accredited private hospitals, while the vast majority of outpatient beds (23.000) were available in public hospitals.