Since 1992 the Italian National Health Service has been characterized by the introduction of managerial concepts. The aim of this article is to analyze the content and impact of the implementation of management and the most significant changes in health care organization and the functioning of the system. The changing organization of health care requires the health care professional to deal with a variety of new demands and, in some cases, to alter his traditional professional practice: the respect of human dignity through empowerment. The general content involves pressures on the health care professional to adapt to the new corporate culture of managed care. At the same time, the expressed psychosocial needs of the cancer patient necessitates increased attention.