Debate: Why Sweden must invest in welfare technology
Hans Dahlgren's picture of how future welfare will have to be rationed is slightly dystopian. He overlooks an important opportunity: increased productivity and efficiency with the help of IT. Our neighbor Denmark is investing in this, called welfare technology. It is high time that Sweden follows suit, writes Anne-Marie Fransson, IT&Telekomföretagen in a response to DN debate.
The concept of well-being can be defined more or less broadly. For body and soul, for example, culture is an important part and something that requires some public support. But the core is after all health and social care, social insurance and education. Hans Dahlgren (C) takes on DN Debatt 7/5 up how the future welfare must be rationed as the needs increase.
Dahlgren raises important issues in the article; issues that are discussed far too rarely in Sweden. But he paints a slightly dystopian picture. There are, he says, only four ways to manage tomorrow's welfare: queues, fees, means testing and central decisions. Curiously, Dahlgren does not mention an obvious fifth possibility: increased productivity and efficiency with the help of IT, what we call welfare technology. The rapid development of medical devices has led to dramatic efficiency gains in healthcare. When used correctly, technology and IT solutions can improve, streamline and complement the human touch in healthcare. Remote care with video is one example. Technical aids for chronic patients is another. However: it does not require costs, but investments.
In Denmark, politicians have realized this for more than five years. They have not turned a blind eye, but have openly discussed it from the perspective of efficiency. In the last parliamentary election, several parties also had a section on the "right to digital welfare" and the like. The Danish government has invested DKK 3 billion in the "Fund for Science and Technology" with the aim of supporting innovative activities (it is worth mentioning that an additional DKK 1.5 billion has been invested in IT in schools). The basic requirement is that the project must have measurable efficiency improvement targets. It is also interesting to note that the fund is not hosted by the Ministry of Social Affairs, but by the Ministry of Finance - which says a lot about the Danish perspective on the issue of tomorrow's welfare. The trade unions also support the work, seeing it as an opportunity to improve the working environment and employees' quality of life in general.
The starting point in Denmark is not to ration but to enable, with the good side effect that it can also lead to a new export industry. Achieving this approach is a long journey that requires changes in structures, organizations and economic management systems. If we are to succeed, Sweden must begin its journey now. In many respects, we are already five years behind our neighboring country on the other side of the bridge.
Anne-Marie Fransson, Director of the IT&Telecom Confederation