National strategy for the health and care sector launched
The Health&Care 21 strategy is Norway's first national research and innovation strategy for the health and care services. The strategy will form the basis for the further development of the services in this key area of society.
Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Minister of Health and Care Services Bent Høie accepted the new strategy document on behalf of the Government from the chair of the strategy group, Professor John-Arne Røttingen of the University of Oslo.
Five main priorities
During the presentation, Professor Røttingen drew attention to the strategy's five main priorities:
- Knowledge mobilisation for the municipalities with substantial, sustainable R&D funding; establishment of a national registry of municipal health and care services; and universities, university colleges and a new research institute sector that specifically aim to meet municipal needs.
- Health care as a focus area of industrial policy with sector-specific measures and greater interaction between the public and private sectors.
- Easier access to and increased utilisation of health data.
- An evidence-informed health and care system based on user involvement and competence, with greater emphasis on developing new interventions and documenting the impact of these, both at the clinical level and at the organisational and system levels.
- A strong commitment to internationalisation and increased participation in the competitive European research system.
Knowledge and research play a key role
Prime Minister Solberg emphasised the importance of knowledge in the health and care sector. "Knowledge and competence play a key role in everything we do in the health and care sector. This is why this strategy document is so vital," she said.
Minister of Health Høie thanked the many actors from the public and private health care sector, patient organisations and the business sector for their efforts with the strategy. "We need both intelligent minds and compassionate hands to build our future health and care services, and the Health&Care21 strategy contains many good, specific recommendations," he said.
Download the strategy here (in Norwegian, with an English summary): HelseOmsorg21 strategien (PDF-2Â 511.8 KB) .
Crucial role for the Research Council
The Research Council of Norway has served as the secretariat for the process.
"This strategy may play a critical role in the development of the entire health and care sector," says Arvid Hallén, Director General of the Research Council and a member of the top leadership forum under the Health&Care21 strategy process. "The partnership developed through this process will in itself be vital for implementation of the strategy," he states.
"Of course the Research Council will play a key part in the future efforts to realise the research and innovation strategy. In particular I want to emphasise three critical objectives: the importance of mobilising knowledge in the municipalities, making health and care a focus of industrial policy, and internationalising health research to an even greater degree," he concludes.
