Primary care and integrated care in Denmark

Denmark faces a number of health care challenges including increasing public and political expectations around the continuity of care increased specialisation in the hospital sector, which typically translates into shorter stays and earlier discharge back into the community and a rise in the number of elderly patients with multiple long-term conditions, requiring safe and effective co-ordination of care and avoiding unnecessary hospitalisation. This chapter assesses how well positioned Danish primary care is to meet these challenges, particularly the challenge of integrated care. The chapter begins by describing the current configuration and outcomes associated with primary care in Demark, and the quality initiatives implemented by the sector. A section focussed on integrated care follows, before closing with an assessment of the gaps and opportunities in Danish primary health care quality. Whilst Danish GPs have actively developed a number of in-house quality initiatives, enthusiasm for cross-sectoral working is much less evident. The sector is well placed, however, to modernise its offer, including new ways of working such as making better use of advanced nurse practitioners. Better information infrastructure is key, as will be combining national vision with local freedom to innovate.