In Italy and in second life, hospitals succeed by challenging status quo

The Wall Street Journal: "As the U.S. debates the proper roles for the public and private sectors in health care, Italy's Lombardy region suggests a way that encouraging competition between the two can improve health care overall. For the past 10 years, public and private hospitals in Lombardy have competed directly for patients, and in doing so have created what is considered by many to be one of Europe's most efficient health-care systems" (Stancati, 4/13). 

The Wall Street Journal, in a separate story: "Dozens of hospitals, medical schools and health foundations have staked out space in the online community Second Life, where participants can build their own virtual clinics and stage just about any training drill they can imagine. Interest is so high, both Stanford University and the University of Michigan last month held workshops on medical training and education in the virtual world" (Simon, 4/13).

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This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.