Structural reforms in Sweden over the past decade have seen a shift of care from the acute hospital sector towards primary and community care, which has helped to further improve quality and contain health care costs. The growing demands on health and social care services, a tight fiscal environment, and rising public expectations, means this process needs to go further. Moreover, the growing complexity of health care needs and technologies, rising prevalence of multi-morbidities, and the increasing duration for which most people need health and care services, has made care co-ordination and integration of paramount importance. They offer considerable potential for further improvements in the quality of care, through both primary and secondary prevention, and a stronger role for primary care in co-ordinating care across different settings.