Sweden

Health care funding is drawn from central government and local government taxes, but most services have a cost-sharing component, with patients responsible for a modest co-payment for physician consultations or hospital stays. For pharmaceuticals, there is a deductible for which the patient is responsible, and above that amount, there is a cost sharing component.

County councils are responsible for providing funding for mental health care, primary care, and hospital services; municipalities are responsible for funding home care, home services, and nursing home care. In 2005 public funding accounted for 85% of health expenditures.

Private health insurance makes up a tiny proportion of health spending. About 4% of residents are covered by supplemental voluntary health insurance, but that represents only about 0.2% of health expenditures as of 2009. This supplemental insurance helps to decrease waiting times when seeking medical care, which can be long in Sweden. In 2010, 82% of individuals with voluntary health insurance were covered by their employers.

Information technology plays an important role in the Swedish healthcare system. Over 90% of primary care physicians use electronic medical records and over 50% of all prescriptions were e-prescriptions in 2009. While hospitals currently have the option to choose their preferred IT systems, there is an ongoing effort to integrate the systems used at a national level, to allow for greater security and system efficiency.