The Challenges of Measuring Performance in Pandemic Times. Evidence from Italy

This contribution informs the functioning of performance management measurement systems during the pandemic from the specific standpoint of Italy, one of the first countries affected by it. As those management control systems must reflect the context in which they operate, they also have to change in relation to them. For this reason, strategies had to be put in place to balance two sometimes mutually exclusive needs, that of timeliness and accuracy of data. These last, respectively serve to support the operation management and strategic planning processes. The “resilience dimension” (i.e., the healthcare organizations’ capacity to proactively foresee, absorb, and adapt to shocks) was conceptualized and strictly monitored. Real-time information systems based on a few indicators and information related to COVID-19 became routinely addressed at all governance levels (central, regional, and local), also to meet the pressing demands of the media on the state of the pandemic. In the light of lessons learned and considerations made, two main threads of further research arise: the necessity to perform an in-depth analysis of what happened during the emergency period and the necessity to identify potential innovations to be made in the healthcare performance evaluation process.