There is a restricted intake of students to some of the health educations, such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacology, psychology and others.
Also there has been a national quota system for new positions as physician in hospitals in the period 1999 to 2013. This has been administered by central health authorities.
Physicians and physiotherapists have an obligation to make agreements with the National Health Economic Administration (HELFO) to receive salary reimbursement from the national social security funds.
The Parliament provided grants to facilitate the increase on local level in a long term action period (in 2014 totally 428 municipalities). In 2001 52% of all health and social personnel was employed in the municipalities, on local level.
A Parliamentary White Paper in 2006 launched a long term plan (until 2015) to prepare for the future needs of personnel in the care sector in the municipalities (Competancy Plan). The goal for capacity increase of 10.000 man-labour years from 2004-2009 was achieved. For the period 2008 to 2015 the goal was 12.000 more man-labour years which also was achieved.
As part of these action plans there is established an annual report system from the municipalities via the regional county level to the national health authorities, both for plans and result of health personnel locally. Every municipality and all regional health authorities (now four) produce health personnel statistics and short and long term personnel plans as part of their strategic planning activity.
In a Parliamentary White Paper of 1997 there was introduced a national supervision and quota system for medical doctors for the period 1998 to 2013 for a better distribution of doctors. An evaluation discloses an intended effect of this mechanism, but form 2013 it was cancelled because of being a too rigid system to cope with new management approaches.
In 2001 a primary doctor list patient scheme was introduced. In 2002 the hospitals were transferred from the ownership of 19 counties to five regional health authorities (now four) with national ownership. These two reforms eventually led to an improved national distribution of the medical doctors throughout the country and a more even access to health care for a scattered population in remote areas.
GO TO
Previous item description | Next item description
Previous step | Next step