Documentation Requirements
When you see the doctor they will want to see some form of identification. If you come from outside the EU, you will also need proof of Swedish residency (if you have not shown a Swedish ID) or you will be liable for higher costs . That is unless your country has an agreement with the Swedish government entitling you to the same care as the locals. Check this list of cooperating countries.
Patient Card (Patientkort or Patientbricka)
The first time you visit a doctor or hospital, you should be issued with a patient card once you have shown some identification. It has your name, personal number and address on it. It simplifies things for the medical personnel and thus minimizes the risks of errors – for example with prescriptions or medical records.
You should take your card with you every time you revisit the doctor, go to the hospital or dentist and so on (in addition to your normal identification). In fact, a hospital may not accept you without one. If you need to go to hospital and you have not been issued with a card (or have lost it), take your official id or passport with you – often they will be able to issue a new one at the hospital (but it may delay treatment).
Charges
Adults with personal numbers will be charged for most aspects of medical treatment but the charges you experience do not represent the full cost of treatment, they are heavily subsidised by the government. Specific charges may vary slightly by region but we have tried to give a rough idea of prices throughout this section. For detailed charges as they apply to your own region, you need to consult your local health authority website.
Care For Children
Treatment for young people and children aged 18 and below is free nationwide. Subsidies are also available to pensioners, those on very low income and those who make extensive use of the healthcare system (see below).
Stockholm As An Example
To use Stockholm as an example, fees for health care are the same regardless of whether you go to clinics run by Landstinget (the regional authority) or private care that Landstinget has an agreement with. The fees for care depend on whether it is elective care, emergency care or specialist care. Currently a visit to the doctor at your Vårdcentral (local clinic) costs from 100-150kr, to a specialist costs 150-300kr (except for the first visit when referred by your local doctor) and a planned hospital visit costs a maximum of 80kr per day. Fees within the private sector can vary and not all have agreements with Landstinget meaning they may charge more. Some organisations partially or totally subsidise care for children even if adults are charged full costs.
Hich-Cost Card
You can also obtain a ‘high cost card’ (högkostnadskort) which is used to monitor how much you have spent on healthcare and to ensure you do not exceed a certain annual amount. The card is available from any clinic and used to monitor all charges from your local health authority (Landstinget) and any therapist or carer who has an agreement with Försäkringskassan or Landstinget. This means there is “high-cost protection” (hökkostnadsskydd) on how much you pay to obtain care, after that you receive a free-card (frikort) making all care free for the remainder of the year. For example the levels are 900kr for health care, 1800kr for prescriptions, 2000kr for technical assistance and 1400kr for transport for Stockholmers at the time of writing.
Latest Information
The latest charges and capped limits are available on www.vardguiden.se, (for Stockholm) the help advice line (sjukvårdsrådgivning – see below) or through your local region’s website. Look here for a list of all regional authority websites. To find the health section, look for ‘Hälsa’ or ‘Vård’ to click on the link (most are entirely in Swedish).
Specialist Treatment
If you need to be referred to a specialist for treatment, your doctor should notify your doctor who will then arrange an appointment for you. It is possible to go straight to the specialist in many cases but you usually go through your local doctor.