Northern Sweden leads
the way
Northern Sweden leads the world how to implement remote virtual healthcare
In many countries all over the world, rural medicine is a high priority area undergoing extensive research. Sweden’s only R&D department specialising in rural medicine is situated in Northern Sweden, where just under 300,000 people now live in rural areas. This area also has the highest proportion of elderly people and the highest dependency ratio. If this area continues to develop as is currently the case, researchers expect there to be more people of non-working age in Sweden’s rural municipalities than people of working age by the early 2030s. This is a development which will significantly increase and alter the need for healthcare and medical services, but also the chances of recruiting well-trained care personnel.
Against this background, NHI has joined forces with regions and municipalities in Northern Sweden to support a collective medical services policy plan and an ambition with the aim of becoming world leaders in the field of future health and social care in rural areas. This ambition includes continued development of the virtual health rooms in cooperation with municipal healthcare services. The aim is to have at least 20 or so similar virtual health rooms in the four northernmost counties within two years.
Public stakeholders in Northern Sweden have joined forces with Nordic Health Innovation (NHI) to support a collective ambition with the aim of becoming world leaders in the field of future health and social care in rural areas. This plan includes an extensive initiative relating to virtual health rooms in cooperation with municipal healthcare services. Three such health rooms have already been established, and more are in the pipeline.