PRIVATE AND PUBLIC HEALTHCARE IN SWEDEN: THE DIFFERENCES EXPLAINED

The Local Sweden - In Sweden, there’s the country’s own equivalent of the UK’s NHS, with treatment that’s looked after by each county council and tax-funded. Consultations at your local healthcare clinic (vårdcentral) with a primary care doctor or a specialist in Sweden aren’t free of charge, but are heavily subsidised by each individual county.

Here’s where it gets a bit complicated. There’s no hard-and-fast rule around where you find public and private healthcare in Sweden -- often you’ll see them working out of the same centre. Some clinics are run independently but have an agreement with the region and receive funding from the local county. For example, at Sophiahemmet, an independently-run hospital in Stockholm, 40 different care providers operate across the institution....>>>