Monitoring of Health Service

-Automatic translation

The Directorate of Health regularly monitors the compliance of health services provided in Iceland with professional standards and the provisions of health legislation at any time.

The Medical Director of Health has the authority to demand information and data deemed necessary for monitoring from healthcare practitioners, healthcare facilities, and others who provide health services. Healthcare practitioners and healthcare facilities must comply with such a demand. The Medical Director of Health shall have ready access to healthcare facilities and the premises of self-employed healthcare practitioners for monitoring purposes.

The Directorate of Health gathers a wide range of data from health services to acquire knowledge about health and health services, monitor the service, evaluate performance, and draw up plans for quality development in health services.

The Directorate of Health uses various methods to comply with these legal provisions and relies, among other things, on the World Health Organization's quality standards.

Through its monitoring activities, the Directorate of Health is guided by the fact that the most effective way to improve the quality and safety of health services is to strengthen collaboration and consultation with managers and staff of healthcare facilities.

Almost 2,000 administrative units are under the supervision of the Directorate of Health.

Related content

• Promoting quality and safety in Icelandic healthcare, guidelines for healthcare institutions. Published 2016. (Icelandic)

• Circular no.  2/2015 on medication in healthcare (Icelandic)

• Criteria for employment in nursing homes. Published 2015. (Icelandic)