Surgery in Italy

During the past 15 years, surgery in Italy has undergone significant develo pments in health care services at the teaching and organizational levels. I n 1987, the new teaching regulations of medical and surgical schools came i nto force with the introduction of integrated courses that converge into ed ucational and training areas with precise objectives. For more than a decad e, postgraduate schools have had a common guideline throughout the European community-becoming real "residencies." Surgical activity is provided by un iversity hospital facilities and hospitals with a business administration t hat is completely autonomous as far as organization, income, management, te chnique, and accounts are concerned. Research guidelines for future develop ments are mainly addressed toward optimization of organization and use of t he most recent technology. The widespread application of day surgery and vi deo-assisted surgery substantiates this evolution of surgery in Italy.