Healthcare rules and regulations

Some of the most important rules and regulations are

• The Health and Social Services Act (in Swedish)
• The Social Services Act (in Swedish)
• The Act concerning Support and Service for Persons with Certain Functional Impairments (LSS) (in Swedish)
• The Patient Safety Act (in Swedish)

All healthcare providers must register with the Health and Social Care Inspectorate

According to the Swedish Patient Safety Act, all healthcare providers are required to register their activities with the Health and Social Care Inspectorate.

The Health and Social Care Inspectorate (Inspektionen för vård och omsorg, IVO) manages the register and also monitors the activities of the healthcare providers listed.

You can request an excerpt from the register of the Health and Social Care Inspectorate about a certain healthcare provider 

Healthcare staff must meet employment and practice requirements

The employer is responsible for healthcare staff having the skills and competencies required to ensure patient safety. All healthcare staff is subject to supervision.

There are 22 regulated healthcare professions in Sweden that require a licence to practise issued by the National Board of Health and Welfare.

Healthcare professionals that are found guilty of serious misconduct risk having their licence to practise withdrawn or restricted. 

Find out more about regulated healthcare professions

Pharmacies must be licensed to practice

A pharmacy must be licensed to practice by the Medical Products Agency. To find out which pharmacies are licensed to practice, go to the Medical Products Agency.

It sometimes happens that patients are given a pharmaceutical product that is called something different than the medicine prescribed by their doctor. This is because pharmacies tend to offer their customers a cheaper alternative to other more expensive products. However, despite a different name and appearance, the active pharmaceutical ingredient is the same.

In Sweden, The Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency, TLV, is responsible for deciding how substitution of medicines is to be performed, as well as to determine whether a pharmaceutical product, medical device or dental care procedure shall be subsidized by the state.

Read more about substitution of medicines at TLV

If you have a disability

According to Swedish law, all public buildings must be accessible to and useable by persons with a disability. If you are a person with a disability, contact the relevant healthcare provider in advance to make sure that their premises meet your specific requirements.

For general questions relating to disabilities and accessibility, contact The Swedish Agency for Participation.