The model does not give answers as to what the consequences of priority setting are or where the boundary of acceptable needs coverage lies. This type of questions must be answered locally/regionally.
Purpose of the model
The purpose of the national model is to:• help create a national consensus on what criteria should be included in priority setting
• help create improved conditions for communicating priority setting and its principles to different professions, various care levels, between county council and municipality, to different parts of the country as well as organisations and authorities.
• help create improved systematic application of the governmental guidelines for priority setting, and thus create conditions for proportionately more resources to be allocated for use in appropriate and effective care for those people in greatest need
• help improve conditions for open priority setting, its principles and consequences
Our objective is that the national model for open priority setting should be understood and accepted by all actors within health care, i.e. health care staff, administrators and politicians, and in the long run the general public.
Application of the national model
The national priority setting model could be applied:• in all types of publicly funded health care, within county councils/regions, and municipalities as well as privately run and publicly funded health care
• for medical treatment, nursing care, rehabilitation and habilitation
• for all health measures in these areas such as health promotion, prevention, examination and analysis/diagnosis, treatment, self-care, follow-up and palliation
• initially to priority setting decisions at group level
• as a basis for priority setting within and between service areas.
