According to Swedish law, those with the most severe illnesses should receive care first, but 42 percent of the 251 health centers that responded to SVT's survey believe that digital patient visits have made it more difficult to follow that principle.
The reason, according to many, is young and opinionated patients who frequently seek care digitally for "banal" ailments. Not infrequently with requirements for medical assessment.
"We referred these away earlier, but now that we do, they threaten to relist and then we lose the listing fee.", writes for example.
Elderly people are being pushed out
In the survey, it is the elderly and people with multiple illnesses who are repeatedly mentioned as the group that is displaced. A group that often has the greatest need for care but rarely seeks care digitally. According to a report from the Swedish Internet Foundation, for example, close to 9 out of 10 pensioners had not used a care app in 2022.
"The doctors are only available in a certain amount and if they have to take care of everything that comes in digitally, "Agda 82" does not get the same opportunity for care, says Gustaf Nälser, operations manager at a health center in Sörmland.
Wish: Think first
Several in the survey also believe that demands for quick feedback affect the ability to prioritize as needed. For example, two write:
"We spend more time on the healthy based on the fact that it is a requirement to respond and assess within certain time frames, which means that those who request care go first."
"We have to answer all cases that come in digitally while the goal for phone is that we answer 85%. Often it's the sickest who just use the phone."
Operations Manager Gustaf Nälser wishes that more people, before seeking care, think about whether the problem can be solved on their own.
"I think few people think about the knock-on effects, but it would be good if more people asked themselves the question: Is it reasonable for me to use taxpayers' money and resources for this trouble? he says.