Johan Hjertqvist summarises the healthcare advances made in Stockholm during the 1990s, describing the reforming process and its good results, but also new difficulties that have cropped up along the way.
The Swedish Health Care in Transition project is written by Swedish health care reformer Johan Hjertqvist, and is published jointly by the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies and the Frontier Centre for Public Policy (www.fcpp.org ) in Winnipeg. The project is generously supported by the Max Bell Foundation.
One of AIMS most popular commentary series. Johan Hjertqvist, internationally known health care reformer, discusses the positive effects of the reintroduction of prices for health care procedures.
Health care is becoming more and more of a political issue in Britain. Long waiting lists, poor response and low standards have led to rising popular discontent. The Government is now taking radical steps to transform the National Health System (NHS). Just as in Sweden, “more money” has for many years been counted on as the recipe for putting things right. But the Blair administration has gradually come to see that pouring new millions into a malfunctioning system only serves to perpetuate the problems. And so now the NHS is to be reformed, from monopoly and bureaucracy to decentralisation and a consumer focus. In this piece, Johan Hjertqvist, AIMS’ commentator on Swedish health care reform, discusses how New Labour has derived most of the inspiration for its reform from the Stockholm County Council. He concludes that the efforts of Britain’s Labour Party offer a glimpse of what can be achieved when you move past ideology and focus on the more practical question of what actually works.
Johan Hjertqvist discusses the utility and effects of user fees in the Swedish health care system. The investigation explores several different aspects of health care including: general practitioners, dental services, elderly care and pharmaceuticals.
Johan Hjertqvist explores the rapid transition in the style and format of health care being experienced in the Stockholm metropolitan area.
Johan Hjertqvist explores the shift from public monopolies to market services. The success in Sweden of public policy experiments that have embraced the principles of competition and choice are driving a fundamental shift in opinion towards free choice, competition and diversity.
In this, his first commentary, Johan Hjertqvist explores the debate over private sector provision of health services in Sweden. He highlights the positive developments in primary care contracting and the continued shift to entrepreneurs over employees in the search for doctors and nurses.
Johan Hjertqvist explores the concepts of choice, competition and accountability to the consumer. The internet is being used as a tool in Sweden to maximize the return from the competitive supply of health services.