Accessing care in Sweden

You are entitled to medically necessary treatment while temporarily staying in Sweden. Medically necessary treatment usually refers to treatment that cannot wait until you return home. You may need such treatment in the event of a sudden illness or an accident. You can also receive treatment for pregnancy, childbirth, or chronic conditions. The need for treatment must arise during your stay. You will receive treatment under the same conditions and at the same cost as local residents. If your condition requires regular treatment during your temporary stay, you should contact the healthcare provider in Sweden in advance to arrange the treatment.

In the Nordic countries, people covered by the Finnish social security system do not need a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). Therefore, presenting your identity card and stating your current address is usually sufficient to receive treatment in Sweden. An identity card can be a passport or another identity card issued by the police. A driver’s licence is usually accepted, but it is recommended to carry an additional form of identification to be on the safe side.

If you do not have your identity card or driver’s licence with you, you may have to pay the full cost of the treatment yourself. In that case, you can apply for reimbursement from Kela afterwards.

When receiving necessary healthcare from the public healthcare system in Sweden, you are only required to pay the patient fee (patientavgift). Treatment is available for this fee at health centres, public hospitals, and private healthcare providers (doctors, hospitals, clinics) that have an agreement with Sweden’s regional councils (regionerna). Regional councils determine the patient fees in their respective areas. Information on how patient fees are determined is available on the 1177 online service (in Swedish).

If you receive treatment at a fully private clinic that does not have an agreement with the public healthcare system, you will the responsible for paying the entire cost yourself.

Health centres are open on weekdays, and appointments can be made by phone. Most health centres also offer a walk-in services during specific hours. You can search for a healthcare provider on the 1177 online service (in Swedish).

The information service is available 24 hours a day and can be reached by dialling 1177 (from within Sweden) or +46 771 11 77 00 (from outside Sweden). You can also call this number to ask for the contact detais of on-duty doctors.

Sudden illness in Sweden

Doctor

If you need to see a doctor, you can contact a general practitioner (allmänläkare) at a health centre (vårdcentral) or clinic (läkarmottagning). Health centres also have nurses (distriktsköterska) who can treat wounds or prescribe medicine for non-serious conditions. However, the nurses’ prescription rights are limited to specific medications and health conditions.

You can make an appointment directly with a specialist, but it is usually advisable and more affordable to see a general practitioner first. They can provide a referral to a specialist if necessary.  A doctor’s referral is usually required for hospital treatment.

Dentist

If you require urgent dental care, you can visit a public dental clinic (folktandvården) or a private dentist who has an agreement with Försäkringskassan (most dentists do).

Dentists are free to set their own treatment fees, provided they are considered reasonable in relation to the treatment given. Reimbursement of dental care costs is based on reference prices. A reference price is a fixed amount set for each type of treatment and determined by the Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency (Tandvårds- och läkemedelsförmånverket, TLV). If a dentist charges more than the reference price, you will need to pay the portion that exceeds it. The dentist must have a list of the reference prices and their own prices, and you are advised to check them before the treatment begins.

Contact information for dentists can be found on the 1177 online service (in Swedish).

Medication

In Sweden, electronic prescriptions are most commonly used instead of paper prescriptions. When collecting your prescribed medicines at a pharmacy (apotek), show your identity card. Prescriptions are usually valid for one year in Sweden.

If you want to know more about medicine reimbursements in Sweden, read the information on the Info Norden website: Medicines and high-cost protection in Sweden.

Hospital treatment

In an emergency, you can go directly to the emergency department (akutmottagning) of a public hospital. You can also visit a private hospital, provided it has an agreement with the county council.

You can be eligible for reimbursement of travel costs to the hospital, depending on the region’s regulations. You can ask the hospital staff about travel allowance. Emergency transport by ambulance or helicopter is usually free of charge, but some counties charge a user fee.

Returning to Finland (specific to the Nordic countries)

If you fall ill and need to return to Finland using a more expensive means of travel (e.g. special transport) than you would have normally used, you are entitled to reimbursement from Sweden. The reimbursement covers the additional cost incurred by using the more expensive mode of transport. In other words, you will pay the same price for your return trip as if you were travelling healthy. This is regulated under the Act on the Nordic Convention on Social Security Convention (in Swedish).

Read more: Falling ill abroad

Patient data

Remember to make sure that your patient data is transferred between countries. You can provide those responsible for your follow-up care or your health centre with the patient records concerning the treatment you received abroad. If the patient records need to be translated, you will be responsible for arranging that yourself.

Quality and safety of treatment in Sweden

In the event of a treatment injury, the legislation and patient insurance of the country where the treatment was provided will apply. For more information about treatment quality and patient safety, visit the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare’s website, Samlat stöd för patientsäkerhet (Comprehensive Support for Patient Safety) (in Swedish).

If you are dissatisfied with the treatment you received, you should first try to resolve the issue directly with the treatment provider. If you remain dissatisfied and wish to make a complaint, visit the website of the Health and Social Care Inspectorate (IVO) for further information.

Healthcare system in Sweden

The Swedish healthcare system includes both public and private healthcare services.

Public healthcare is managed and operated either by a county council (regionerna), local authority, or municipality which can independently manage and prioritise their own healthcare resources. As a result, the types of healthcare services may vary.

Private healthcare services that have a contract with the National Health Services have the same costs as public healthcare. If the private service provider does not have such a contract, the patient pays the full costs of the treatment.

Dental care in Sweden is also both private and public. Public dental care is generally referred to as “Folktandvården”.

Useful websites

If you plan to travel to Sweden for healthcare services, please visit our website for general information about seeking treatment abroad. Some useful websites are also listed below. You should direct any questions about healthcare in Sweden to the Swedish National Contact Point. Sweden has two national contact points. Socialstyrelsen provides advice to foreign nationals who intend to seek healthcare in Sweden. Försäkringskassan serves as a contact point for Swedish residents seeking treatment outside Sweden.

You can find information on public healthcare services on the website of the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (Sveriges kommuner och regioner, SKR). The site includes links to the county councils’ own pages, which provide more information about regional healthcare services.