Shifting care away from the hospital sector and toward primary care settings in Norway

This chapter describes existing supplemented primary health care units in Norway and it provides advice on how the set-up of these units can contribute to goals of improving quality of care. Supplemented primary health care units are community-based structures created to provide short-term intervention to preserve the independence of people who might otherwise face unnecessarily prolonged hospital stays or inappropriate admission to hospital. Whilst comparable units have already existed for several years in a number of Norwegian municipalities, the 2012 Coordination Reform required their development and has given an added impetus to their systematic establishment. The overarching goal is to boost lower-level care, expand primary care services, and reduce unnecessary hospital admissions.