Priority dilemmas in psoriasis care and visions of a future care in a group of administrators, politicians and professionals in northern Sweden

During the 1990s priority discussions were actualized in Sweden due to increased demands on health care and limited resources. In the county of Västerbotten in northern Sweden, with large rural areas, the decision makers faced special challenges due to distances and cost. Despite discussions striving for fairness in priorities, decision makers are still dealing with limited resources and difficult priority decisions regarding different diseases and treatments. In this study we aimed at describing views on priorities in public psoriasis care and visions of a future care among politicians, administrators and professionals in the county of Västerbottten in northern Sweden. Qualitative research interviews were performed with 23 key-persons. The findings revealed priority dilemmas about issues on organization, accessibility and ethics. Visions of a future care appeared as ambitions of a more effective care with good accessibility, continued research, information and a holistic approach in priorities. We conclude that dilemmas revealed in this study were a reflection of a gap between intentions and practice. In efforts to reduce these dilemmas we suggest methods with fairness in economic planning and priority setting, with concrete, official statements about the dominating views on which the priorities are based, and public information about these statements.