Public health sistem in sweden

AuthorDoina Popescu Ljungholm
PositionFaculty of Law and Administration, Departament of Law and Public Administration Pitesti University, Pitesti, Arges
Pages141-147
AGORA International Journal of Juridical Sciences, www.juridicaljournal.univagora.ro
ISSN 1843-570X, E-ISSN 2067-7677
No. 1 (2014), pp. 141-147
141
PUBLIC HEALTH SISTEM IN SWEDEN
D. Popescu Ljungholm
Doina Popescu Ljungholm
Faculty of Law and Administration, Departament of Law and Public Administration
Pitesti University, Piteşti, Argeş
*Corespondence: Doina Popescu Ljungholm, Piteşti University, Tg. Din Vale St., Piteşti,
Argeş, Romania
Email:dopopescu@yahoo.com
Abstract
The Swedish health care system is a socially responsible system with an explicit public
commitment to ensure the health of all citizens. Quality health care for all is a cornerstone of
the Swedish welfare state. The 1982 Health and Medical Services Act not only incorporated
equal access to services on the basis of need, but also emphasizes a vision of equal health for
all. Three basic principles areintended to apply to health care in Sweden. The principle of
human dignity means that all human beings have an equal entitlement to dignity, and should
have the same rights, regardless of their status in the community. The principle of need and
solidarity means that those in greatest need take precedence in medical care. The principle of
cost–effectiveness means that when a choice has to be made between different health care
options, there should be a reasonable relationship between the costs and the effects, measured
in terms of improved health and improved quality of life.
Keywords: public health, equal acces, authorities, national level, local level.
Introduction
The present structure of the Swedish health care system reflects a long history of public
funding and ownership, together with the growing importance of local self-government.
Developments until the late 1960s were characterized by a growth in the number, size and
importance of hospitals, largely determined by an expanding medical profession. During the
1960s, county councils’ responsibility for hospital services became integrated with
responsibility for mental health services and general outpatient services, previously a national
government responsibility. By 1982, a new act formally handed over responsibility for the
planning and provision of services to the county councils. During both the 1960s and the
1970s, health care expenditures and physical resources grew continuously. The chief concern
at both the national and local government levels was to improve equal access to services.
Since the late 1980s, attention has shifted to cost control and efficiency, and to a growing
demand for performance and quality in more recent times.The Swedish health care system is
organized into three levels: the national, regional and local. The Health and Medical Services
Act of 1982 specifies that the responsibility for ensuring that everyone living in Sweden has
access to good health care lies with the county councils/regions and municipalities. The Act is
designed to give county councils and municipalities considerable freedom with regard to the
organization of their health services. The state, through the Ministry of Health and Social
Affairs, is responsible for overall health care policy. There are eight government agencies
directly involved in the area of health care and public health: the National Board of Health and
Welfare, the HSAN, the Swedish Council on Technology Assessment in Health Care. The 17
county councils and 4 regional bodies are responsible for the funding and provision of health
care services to their populations. The 290 municipalities are legally obliged to meet the care
and housing needs of older people and people with disabilities. There is a mix of publicly and

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