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Country profiles of health system responses to the crisis | Iceland
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Changes to health service planning, purchasing and delivery
Prices of medical goods
• Introduction of new prescribing rules (generics prescribed before trying more
expensive alternatives); if rules are not followed, patients must pay the full cost
of the drug (2009).
Salaries and motivation of health sector workers
• Cuts to overtime rates and night shifts, and longer shifts with fewer staff
implemented to reduce health worker salary bills in individual health care
organizations (2009).
• Staff cuts of approximately 10% at the National University Hospital
(2007–2010).
• Hiring of young professionals to train as family doctors (since 2010).
Payment to providers
• No response reported.
Overhead costs: restructuring the Ministry of Health and purchasing agencies
• Ministry of Health and Ministry of Social Affairs merged to reduce
administrative costs (2008).
• Directorate of Health and the Public Health Institute merged (2011).
Provider infrastructure and capital investment
• Decision to build a smaller and less-expensive new University Hospital than
had been originally planned before the crisis (2009). In 2012, Reykjavik City
made a decision to facilitate the continuing work on the new hospital design
and preparation to start building in 2014.
• Primary health centres merged to reduce, for example, the number of
rural health centres from 20 to 12 between 2007 and 2011.
• Introduction of a merger of small hospitals and primary health care
centres in rural areas (2010 and 2011), which was minimized following
strong objections from local citizens and politicians.
• A relatively small hospital in the capital area was closed and its services moved
to other hospitals in the area (2011).
Priority setting or protocols to change access to treatments, coordination
of care and patterns of use
• No response reported.
Waiting times
• No response reported.