The development of digital clinics is also progressing rapidly in other countries. In Sweden, development has been driven by nationally operating private companies since 2016, but public actors have also invested in the development of digital health services. In most regions, digital health services are available from both public and private service providers, between which the customer can freely choose his or her own digital clinic on the basis of his or her freedom of choice.
Under the Swedish tax-funded system, 21 autonomous communities are responsible for the organisation and financing of health services in their own region
The Swedish healthcare system has many similarities with the Finnish model, but there are significant practical differences in the organisation of service provision. From the customer's point of view, one significant difference relates to the freedom of choice system at the heart of the activity (LOV - Lagen om valfrihetssystem). Primary health care services are provided in parallel by public and private service providers, and the client is free to choose the primary health care provider between these options. The pricing of services and customer fees are determined by region, but from the customer's point of view, the deductible is basically the same regardless of whether the service is produced publicly or privately.[1,2]
Publicly produced digital clinic services are built into the national 1177 ecosystem
The Swedish healthcare system is, by the way, strongly area-driven, but publicly produced digital health services have been developed in a much more centralised manner under the leadership of Inera. Inera is a company owned by municipalities and regions, and the majority of public digital clinics in the regions rely on the 1177 ecosystem developed by Inera.
Sweden's 1177 service platform serves as a centralised digital service channel. It provides mainly area-specific information and guidance, but also enables first contact with healthcare. The first contact has traditionally been made by telephone through a nurse, but new digital channels have also been developed for the platform. Customers who have logged in to the online service or mobile application can view their own health data, send non-urgent messages, book appointments at the health centre and use the digital health services in their area.[3]
Most of the areas have built a public digital clinic as part of the 1177 platform, which enables real-time digital contact with the health centre, for example in the form of chat or video reception, depending on the service model of the area. Only a few regions use digital clinic platforms outside the 1177 service in public service production.
Competition between private service providers is fierce
Several private service providers operate in the Swedish digital clinic market, the most famous of which are Kry, Min Doktor and Doktor.se. These actors also provide services to public health care. Digital clinics for private service recipients often serve nationwide, but there may be regional variations in customer fees. Customer fees for digital services are typically determined by the price level and compensation system set by the region and are generally cheaper for the customer than traditional brick-and-mortar services. The price paid by the customer is a fixed deductible, typically ranging from SEK 0 to SEK 300 (approximately EUR 0 to EUR 28).
Since prices are largely determined by regional tariffs and compensation models, service providers compete with each other primarily in terms of choice and quality of service. The services of large private operators include chat receptions and video receptions with a healthcare professional chosen by the client. The nurse's chat appointments are free of charge in many models, while the doctor's appointment is typically subject to a deductible.
AI tools are developed by both public and private service providers
At the end of December 2025, a total of 197 different AI-related development projects were underway in Sweden in regional health care.[4]. The projects are mainly local and are carried out in individual regions. They aim to use AI in both patient care and administrative processes, for example as AI-assisted assistants, chatbots and logging support.
One major development in the integration of automated technology into public service production is the 1177 Direkt service developed by Inera, which approximately half of the regions have implemented since 2023.[5]. A registered resident fills in an intelligent symptom assessment, based on which they are automatically referred to a chat with the nursing staff or receive self-care instructions. This means that the assessment of the need for treatment in Sweden can in some cases be carried out fully automated without immediate contact with a healthcare professional (Figure 1).
The development of artificial intelligence tools by private service providers is also progressing rapidly. For example, Kry, a digital reception provider, has signed a cooperation agreement with Azure OpenAI[6]. Kry has used artificial intelligence in particular to reduce the administrative burden on professionals, and the company has also announced its goal to develop tools that support more personalised and high-quality care.
Competing digital clinic companies offer fast-access digital services
As waiting times for traditional brick-and-mortar services are often measured in days and short waiting times are rare, digital clinics can provide the customer with faster and easier access to health services[7]. In Sweden, digital clinics have become an established part of primary health care in the past ten years, and the majority of Swedes have long had the opportunity to visit a digital clinic. Nationally operating private digital service companies have contributed to strengthening regional equality, because from the customer's point of view, the differences between regions are primarily related to regional variations in customer fees in digital services.
Authors of the blog:
Alex Kivimäki, Vivi Mauno
- https://www.socialstyrelsen.se/en/about-us/healthcare-for-visitors-to-sweden/about-the-swedish-healthcare-system[↩]
- https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/publications/i/sweden-health-system-summary-2024[↩]
- https://www.1177.se/[↩]
- http://vardkartan.ai.se/[↩]
- https://www.1177.se/Gotland/om-1177/1177-direkt/[↩]
- https://www.microsoft.com/en/customers/story/1693712644049090392-kry-azure-open-ai-service-sweden[↩]
- https://doi.org/10.1093/ej/ueag016[↩]