Central government The
central government plays a relatively limited role in health care in Denmark. Its main functions are to regulate, coordinate and provide advice and its main responsibilities are to establish goals for national
health policy, determining national
health legislation, formulating regulation, promoting cooperation between different health care actors, providing guidelines for the health sector, providing health and healthcare-related information, promoting quality and tackling patient complaints. In 1994, the Health Ministry created an agency that joined health care industry and providers to agree on systemwide software standards. The
Danish Quality Model, based on the
Institute for Quality and Accreditation in Healthcare was introduced in 2005 and run in cooperation between Danish Regions, the Ministry of Health, Health Protection Agency, KL, the Danish Pharmaceutical Association and the Danish Chamber of Commerce. In 2007, a reorganization gave general practitioners more duties while health care decision-making was centralized. The financial stability law introduced in 2012 means that all regions and municipalities must keep within 1.5% of their budgets. The Central government must also now approve the introduction of new specialist facilities or the closure of existing facilities.
Local government The 5 regions are responsible for hospitals and general practitioners. They are financed mainly through income taxes. The 98 local communes have long had responsibilities for nursing homes and care services. Local political accountability to a population with a large proportion of elderly people means that these services get political attention. The level of satisfaction with the health system in 1997 was greater than in other EU countries, including some with larger health care expenditures per capita. In 1988, legislation a law was passed limiting the construction of new nursing homes and nursing homes were converted to single-occupancy rooms. From 1997 all new housing for older people was required to have at least a bedroom, sitting room, kitchen, and bath. The
Skaevinge Municipality set up an Integrated Home Care project in 1984 which was evaluated by the
Danish Institute of Health Care in 1997. Health care was made available to all citizens both in institutions and in their own homes and prevention and support to maintain and strengthen their health and quality of life were prioritised. They were involved in decision-making and the staff, working in small teams were given more autonomy. It was found that in 1997 40.8% of older people assessed their own health as good in comparison with 28.9% people of the same age in 1985. The number of days people over 67 spent in hospital fell by 30%. The nursing home was closed and became a hub for community support services which included a senior center, day care, rehabilitation, 24-hour home care, and assisted living organised in three geographical teams. Nursing home staff were guaranteed jobs in the new set up. This integrated approach was widely adopted in Denmark. Nursing homes and home care organizations were no longer staffed separately. Between 1985 and 1997 the number of nursing home beds in Denmark was reduced by 30%.
Electronic health records Denmark does not have nationwide
electronic health records. It is mandatory for primary care practices and hospitals to use EHRs. The Danish Health Data Network (Medcom) acts as a data integrator to ensure interoperability. Unfortunately, non-interoperability is an issue despite the high adoption rate. The five
regions are attempting to address this problem by each setting up their own electronic health record systems for public hospitals. However, all patient data will still be registered in the national e-journal. ==Healthcare costs==