(Highlight Report) Patient-Centeredness in Sweden's Health System -- An External Assessment and Six Steps for Progress

Today, patient-centered care is recognized as an important aspect of health care quality, but remains the least defined, conceptualized and explored. Strengthening the position of patients has been a stated policy aim in Swedish health care for more than three decades, yet we lack sufficient knowledge of the position of patients, and how we are making progress towards that goal.Against this background, the Swedish Agency for Health and Care Services (Vårdanalys) commissioned an external evaluation of patient-centeredness in the Swedish health care system.The external study was charged to answer three questions:1. What type of analytical framework can be used to assess the extent to which Sweden's health care system is patient-centered?2. To what extent is Sweden's health care system patient-centered?3. What changes in policy could help to strengthen the degree of patient-centeredness in Sweden's health care system?