Healthcare is one of the fundamental services in modern welfare states. It is a policy area under constant re-regulation, re-organization, scrutiny and debate. One essential issue for the regulation and organization of healthcare concerns the dividing line between private and public. The private-public divide is one of history’s fundamental dichotomies and concerns many aspects of human life. This distinction was recently brought to the fore in the healthcare setting through the introduction of the New Public Management reforms in the 1990s. The public – private theme has continued to be omnipresent in healthcare and concerns a multitude of issues including ownership and organizational forms, control, responsibility and transparency of healthcare entities, professional work and outcomes. It also concerns patients’ rights and responsibilities. The public – private theme also spans over different levels of governance and over national boundaries. In some areas the dividing line is becoming increasingly blurred, while it in other areas may be reinforced and/or transferred. The 3^rd Nordic Workshop on Health Management and Organization is devoted to deal with these issues. We welcome papers that investigate what is taking place in the borderland between private and public in healthcare. Which are the driving mechanisms behind these changes? What are the roles of healthcare professionals, politicians, patients and commercial interests? What are the consequences for healthcare governance, control and accountability? These are some of the issues we would like to discuss and further elaborate in the 3^rd Nordic Workshop on Health Management and Organization in Uppsala 2008.

Welcome to participate!