Abstract
Three basic questions can be posed regarding the coordination between medical and social services:
1. What will be gained by coordination?
2. What does the concept of coordination imply?
3. How is cooperation in the field (objectives, direction and form) to be organised?
This paper deals mainly with the third question, as illustrated by the planning and experiences of the health centre in Skara, a town in the west of Sweden. In this health centre there is a co-localization of the health and medical services and the social services of the municipality. The cooperation is also structured through different types of consultative groups at the political level as well as in the practical work in the field.
The paper also discusses some general principles regarding the cooperation between medical and social services and presents results from some screening studies regarding the need for such cooperation.
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