Reforming Swedish health care in the 1990s: the emerging role of 'public firms'.

A growing number of Swedish county councils have started to develop more flexible methods by which to produce and deliver health services. This paper explores the current status of this reform process both empirically and conceptually. Empirically, it draws upon data obtained by a 1990 questionnaire from all 26 county councils to chart the level of movement across the entire system. Conceptually, it distills from this reform activity a key element that provides an organizational basis for the future, namely the transformation of provider institutions into 'public firms'. The paper concludes that while the precise outcome may be hard to predict, the reform process itself is well underway.