The Swedish Parliament has voted to end the government monopoly on pharmacies. Read the The Local’s article on it here.

As you probably know, Sweden has a socialized healthcare system. The local governments pay for almost all clinical and hospital costs; however, paying for pharmaceuticals is up to the patients. The only provider of prescription and over-the-counter medication, currently, is Apoteket (the government owned pharmacy).

Personally, I’m tired of jumping through hoops for Apoteket just to buy necessities like contact solution and aspirin. Competition will be a good thing for people in Sweden. With the coming open market, one can expect more stores, more selection, better service, and lower prices.