Public hospitals prioritize private services, impacting wait times in Italy

Public hospitals are increasingly prioritizing private patient services over public healthcare, leading to longer wait times for those relying on the national system. This shift is driven by systemic issues where public healthcare cannot meet demand, pushing patients to pay for private services offered by the same public doctors. Accredited private hospitals also increasingly focus on profitable private services, sometimes using public doctors. The article highlights two examples, Rizzoli in Bologna and Humanitas in Milan, illustrating how this public-private mix benefits private entities while potentially disadvantaging public healthcare access.