Alternatives and options for funding continuing medical education: a debate

There are four main categories for funding continuing medical education (CME) in Europe: public funding, industrial funding, private funding, and a combination of the three. Reasons behind funding are different in countries with a prevalent state or free-market economy; public funding should have public health as its main concern, while individual funding should have concern with individual benefits. This paper describes the main alternatives and options for funding CME in Italy, a European country with a national health service (NHS) and a free-market economy. In Italy CME is a legal obligation for permanent NHS staff and for doctors who participate in the NHS. A budgeted item in the Health Fund is assigned to CME, but few Regions have clearly set out a CME programme strategy.