“There is no specific law regulating patients’ rights in Sweden, as opposed to in other Nordic countries. Instead, different rights for patients, such as patient choice or the right to information, are incorporated in other legislation and are formulated in policy agreements between the state and the county councils through the SALAR. Regulations are mainly targeted at the behaviour of personnel and only indirectly at patients’ rights. For instance, personnel are obliged to provide individually tailored information but patients have no articulated right to receive such information (Winblad & Ringard 2009). In March 2001, however, the government appointed a committee…
Sweden’s Health System: Health Outcome Measures
"Life expectancy at birth in Sweden increased by two and a half years from 2000–15, to 82.2 years (Figure 1). Swedish life expectancy is 1.6 years longer than the EU average and is the fifth highest across the EU."The gap in life expectancy between men and women is 3.7 years (80.4 years for men and 84.1 years for women), which is among the smallest in the EU. However, there is a sizeable gap in life expectancy between socioeconomic groups, particularly among men. Life expectancy at birth among Swedish men with university education is almost five years higher than among those…
Sweden’s Health System: Financing
"The Swedish health care system is primarily funded through taxes (Fig. 3.5). Both the county councils and the municipalities levy proportional income taxes on their respective populations. The financing of health care services by local taxes is supplemented by the central government and by user charges. Subsidies for dental care are paid for by national social insurance, and the Swedish Social Insurance Agency generates revenues primarily through employer payroll fees (Fig. 3.6). Subsidies for prescription drugs are paid for through designated state grants to the county councils and then treated as a restriction on the county councils’ fee revenues (section…
Sweden’s Health System: Expenditures
"Sweden has the third highest spending on health as a share of GDP in the EU, 11.0% compared to 9.9% in the EU in 2015. In terms of spending per capita, Sweden spent EUR 3 932 per capita on health in 2015 (adjusted for differences in purchasing power), which is the fifth highest in the EU (Figure 6)."Public expenditure accounts for 84% of the total, a share which has been fairly stable over the past decade and is above the EU average (79%). Most private expenditure (93%) is paid out-of-pocket directly by households and voluntary health insurance still only plays…
Sweden’s Health System: An Overview
"Health care and other welfare services are considered a public responsibility in Sweden. The Swedish health care system is organized into three levels: the national, regional and local (Fig. 2.1). According to the Swedish Health and Medical Services Act of 1982: “Health and medical services are aimed at assuring the entire population of good health and of care on equal terms. Care shall be provided with due respect for the equal worth of all people and the dignity of the individual. Priority shall be given to those who are in the greatest need of health and medical care”. The responsibility…
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