NPÖ

NPÖ stands for Nationell patientöversikt, or National Patient Overview, a Swedish national health information system designed to provide healthcare professionals with a consolidated view of a patient’s relevant health information across regional electronic health records. It aims to improve patient safety, continuity of care, and coordination among hospitals, primary care, and social services by making up-to-date information available to authorized clinicians regardless of where care is delivered.

The system aggregates data such as diagnoses, medications, allergies, immunizations, care plans, and laboratory results from regional electronic health records. NPÖ does not replace the underlying regional records; rather, it provides a standardized, read-only overview with links to the original data sources. Access is restricted to authorized health professionals who are granted access rights and who operate within the patient’s care chain. Patient consent and privacy protections are central, with Sweden’s data protection laws and regional governance applying; patients may have the ability to limit or block access in certain circumstances.

Implementation and governance: NPÖ is administered within Sweden’s national e-health infrastructure, involving national and regional health authorities, and is supported by interoperability standards and secure authentication. Data-sharing is subject to regulations and agreements between regions, and data is primarily stored and transmitted in a manner that complies with GDPR.

Impact and current status: Since its introduction, NPÖ has been rolled out gradually to participating regions, with ongoing work to improve data coverage, timeliness, and system usability. It supports emergency care, hospital admissions, and routine clinical decision-making, but its usefulness depends on participation by care providers and the quality of the regional data.