For many years now, the Milanese health system has been one of the strengths of the provincial economy, with world-class centres of excellence attracting patients from all over Italy. It also plays a central role in the broader scenario of the Lombard regional health system: alongside the traditional centers of excellence in Milan and Pavia, over the last few decades Lombardy has built up an effective network of highly qualified hospitals and other facilities in almost every province in the region.

The figures are impressive. The province of Milan boasts 50 hospitals, 22 of which public, 21 private but working under contract to local public health units and 7 completely private. Overall, they account for just under 40% of all hospitals in Lombardy and 3.7% of all those operating in the country as a whole. Milanese hospitals total 16,180 beds, or 41.2% of all those present in Lombardy and 6.7% of those available nationwide.

Medical personnel number 9,538, and of these 7,587 work in public hospitals and health centres. Milanese doctors make up 47.2% of Lombardy's medical personnel and 7.8% of Italy's.

Milanese hospitals have excellent reputations for certain specializations, such as cardiology and cardio surgery (IRCCS Monzino), oncology (Istituto dei Tumori, Istituto Oncologico Europeo), neurology and neuropsychiatry (Istituto Besta), ear, nose & throat and opthalmology (Policlinico di Milano), plus other surgical specializations in centres such as IRCCS San Raffaele and Ospedale Niguarda).

Useful links

Istituto nazionale di neurologia Carlo Besta
European Institute of Oncology (IEO)
Istituto clinico Humanitas
Istituto nazionale dei tumori di Milano 
Istituto Scientifico Universitario San Raffaele di Milano 
Ospedale Luigi Sacco
Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Mangiagalli e Regina Elena Istituto di ricerche farmacologiche Mario Negri
Campus IFOM-IEO