The recent reform and digitalization of Italian public administration in the last decade involves the assessment and management of the performance of healthcare organizations aimed at improving transparency and institutional accountability to citizens and stakeholders. In these processes, effective communication plays an important role in achieving the objectives that they are seeking, impacting on the citizen-patient’s empowerment. The authoress reflects on the centrality and on the dimensions of public communication in this area and on the way in which the Italian healthcare organizations communicate their performance online, with nods to international best practices.
Keywords: Public communication, e-Health, performance assessment, transparency, accountability, citizen empowerment.