New Legislation Enhances Forensic Psychiatry and Healthcare Supervision in Sweden
Stockholm, Sweden – In a significant development for forensic psychiatry and healthcare supervision in the country, new provisions in the Act on Forensic Psychiatric Examination and changes in the Publicity and Confidentiality Act will come into effect starting July 1.
The amendments grant the Forensic Medicine Agency greater access to data from privately-run health care and social services. This expansion of regulations also encompasses certain authorities such as the Social Insurance Agency, the Prison Service, and the Migration Agency.
Commenting on the new legislation, the Swedish Medical Examiner’s Office states that the removal of non-disclosure regulations when requested by forensic psychiatry for documents will expedite the process and simplify their tasks.
Patrik Backgård, the head of the Swedish Medical Agency’s forensic psychiatric examination unit in Stockholm, highlighted the benefits of the new legal support, stating, “The new regulations make our task significantly easier by allowing us to order documents with personal data from private healthcare providers and certain authorities.”
The Inspectorate for Care and Care (Ivo), responsible for healthcare supervision, will also witness two significant changes. Firstly, Ivo will now have the authority to impose fines on care providers who fail to register their activities in the care provider register. Secondly, caregivers are obligated to report any changes or relocation of their business. The government’s rationale behind these changes is to ensure effective supervision through an updated register.
Furthermore, healthcare institutions engaged in reprocessing single-use products will be required to provide information about their activities and the affected products to Ivo. This applies not only to healthcare institutions themselves but also to external actors involved in the reuse process.
In another development, the government’s document “Laws and regulations before the turn of the year 2023” reveals that the Riksdag, the Swedish Parliament, has legislated measures to enhance the supply readiness of healthcare products. The legislation clarifies the equipment required in healthcare facilities and introduces storage obligations for outpatient pharmacies and delivery obligations for wholesalers supplying hospital pharmacies.
The regulation for biobanks is also undergoing changes with the introduction of the new Biobank Act. The act outlines rules for making samples available outside of a biobank and permits the storage of samples abroad. Moreover, consent is not required for the preservation and use of samples if they are related to the sample donor’s care or treatment and the sample donor has consented to care or treatment as per the Patient Act.
In addition to these changes, the professional title of assistant nurse will become protected, and the regulation on digital COVID evidence will be discontinued.
The healthcare field in Sweden is poised to benefit significantly from these legislative changes, which aim to streamline processes, enhance supervision, and ensure the availability and quality of healthcare products and services.
Source: Lakartidningen.se (June 30, 2023)