A new study highlights the major challenges of the Danish healthcare system with lack of cohesion for patients. Recommendations from the Health Structure Commission are on the way, and the study from Danish Patients sheds light on significant issues that the commission needs to address.
According to the study, one in five patients experiences being sent around the healthcare system for the same type of tests because different sectors and departments do not communicate sufficiently. This already consumes scarce resources in a time with more elderly and chronic patients and fewer staff to take care of them.
The study also shows that one in four patients to a lesser extent or not at all feel seen and treated as a whole person in their contact with healthcare professionals. For a large group of patients, the information and messages they receive from different parts of the healthcare system do not align.
The director of the umbrella organization Danish Patients, Morten Freil, points out: “The study shows that the entire healthcare system is not properly connected. No one has a clear responsibility for each patient’s course. They do not feel seen as a whole person in their contact with the healthcare system.” Freil hopes for ambitious proposals from the Health Structure Commission and warns against politicians only focusing on personnel shortages and doctor coverage. He emphasizes the need for cooperation between municipalities, regions, hospitals, and specialists to break down the silos and utilize the combined resources more effectively.
“This is the first time since the structural reform in 2007 that there is a real holistic view on how to build our healthcare system so that it better aligns for patients. So far, the solutions have been temporary patches. More money and more staff do not in themselves solve the fundamental structural challenges,” Freil concludes.