The regions currently pay out-of-county compensation when the online medical company that the patient uses is in another county.

The costs vary for different types of visits, but SKR, Sweden's municipalities and regions recommend a compensation of SEK 500 per online doctor visit.  

As more people use online medical companies such as Kry, Min Doktor and Mindler, the cost of out-of-county compensation has increased.

In the Kronoberg Region, 14,428 visits were made in 2019, and by 2020 it had increased to 28,688 visits.

This has increased the cost, and last year Region Kronoberg paid more than 12 million in out-of-county compensation.  

The regulations must be reviewed

Region Västra Götaland plans to stop paying out-of-county compensation for online doctor visits next year and more regions have since looked at the issue.

Region Kronoberg also wants to review the regulations, but it is not easy to solve them legally.  

- It is an old set of rules that actually applies to physical visits.

If you go to another county and visit a health center there, Region Kronoberg has to pay for it.

Since then, there has been no specific set of rules for the digital visits and therefore the situation has become very strange.

Krys care center in Älmhult can reduce costs

Kry, which is the largest online medical company, has now established itself in Älmhult and opened a health center there.

It may reduce the costs for Region Kronoberg when the company is now in the county. 

- Now we will together with Kry try to find a way so that the visits that Kronobergarna makes digitally with them do not become an out-of-county visit but an in-county visit.

Then we can handle it with the usual regulations and then it will be both better and cheaper for us as a region.

According to Krys, regional manager for southern Sweden, that agreement can be completed within a few months. 

- There are technical solutions that must be in place for us to be able to register our care visits in Kronoberg.

My hope is that they will take place in the near future, says Petter Davidsson, regional manager for Kry in southern Sweden.