The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is one of the first U.S. health systems to receive provider status by the Irish government, a designation that will allow half of Ireland’s 4 million citizens covered by public health insurance to receive cancer treatment at UPMC’s two radiation therapy centers in Ireland. The Irish government is assisting in the development of private healthcare facilities located near public hospitals to reduce delays in treatment and provide better access to medical care at overcrowded facilities, reports the Pittsburgh Business Times. UPMC has a facility in Waterford and will soon open one near Dublin. The British government is also working with private companies to build new healthcare facilities, and the provider status granted by the Irish government is a big advantage to UPMC, which wants to build radiation therapy centers in the United Kingdom as well. “The government monopoly is being challenged at the moment to save money and improve efficiency,” Joe Farrington-Douglas, research fellow at the London-based Institute for Public Policy Research, told the Times. “It’s almost a new market--opportunities will be there.”
