Swedes see a doctor on their phone all the time, and they will tell you to do the same. Here is how the apps actually work, why the login stops most foreigners, what a visit costs a resident, and what to do if you can’t get in.
When you need this
A Swedish friend says “just book Kry” for your sore throat. You are an exchange student and the health app you downloaded asks for BankID on the first screen. You have just got your personnummer and want to know what a video visit costs and what it can do. Or you need a prescription renewed and wonder whether an app will handle it without a trip to a clinic.
How the apps fit into public healthcare
The first thing to understand is that Sweden’s “digital doctors” (nätläkare, online doctors) are not a private parallel system. Kry, Min Doktor, Doktor.se, Doktor24 and similar services run as, or subcontract to, ordinary health centres (vårdcentraler) inside a region’s publicly funded primary care. The patient pays a regional patient fee, not a private price. Min Doktor, for example, says its digital primary care is part of the free choice of care through a subcontract with a health centre in Region Sörmland.
That works nationwide because of a single rule in the Patient Act: a patient covered by a region’s healthcare responsibility may choose a provider of publicly funded outpatient care inside or outside that region. The Health and Medical Services Act then requires the receiving region to treat that patient on the same terms as its own residents, and the patient’s home region pays the bill. Between regions that payment is called utomlänsersättning (out-of-region payment).
The regions also run their own video clinics. Some clinics hold video calls, booked by staff or by agreement with you, and in several regions a 1177 nurse can switch a phone call to video. Not every clinic offers it.
| Route | Who runs it | How you get in |
|---|---|---|
| Kry, Min Doktor, Doktor.se and similar apps | Private providers inside public primary care | Swedish BankID |
| Regional video clinics via 1177 | Your region’s own clinics | Swedish e-ID (BankID or Freja+) |
| 1177 by phone | The regions’ joint advice line | No login needed |
The login wall
Every route above except the phone line identifies you electronically, and in practice that means BankID. Kry tells you to start by logging in with your BankID. Doktor.se’s terms say you must be able to identify yourself with BankID and that each account may be used only by and for the account holder. Min Doktor says plainly that without a Swedish personnummer it cannot book a visit. The 1177 portal needs a Swedish personnummer plus BankID or Freja+, and a foreign e-ID, a reservnummer (substitute patient number) or a coordination number will not open it.
The money now reinforces the wall. In April 2026 SKR, the regions’ association, recommended that a digital contact qualifies for payment between regions only if it is preceded by an identity check through strong authentication, a triage step and a medical assessment by licensed staff. That is a recommendation to the regions, not a statute: the personnummer requirement comes from how the services are built and paid for.
BankID itself is issued only against a personnummer, and a coordination number is not enough (see BankID for visitors and the personnummer explained).
Who can use what
| You are… | App video visit | 1177 by phone | Health centre in person |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tourist (EU or not) | No — no BankID | Yes | Yes, on a reservnummer |
| Exchange student staying under a year | Usually no — not registered, no BankID | Yes | Yes, on a reservnummer |
| Coordination-number holder | No — no BankID | Yes | Yes |
| Resident with personnummer, no BankID yet | Min Doktor: contact support to book | Yes | Yes |
| Resident with personnummer and BankID | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Children are handled through their guardians. At Min Doktor, under-16s seek care with a guardian who logs in with their own BankID, and Doktor.se lets guardians use their BankID for their children. A visiting family therefore faces the same wall as a visiting adult.
What you pay at a physical clinic as a visitor depends on your entitlement (EHIC, GHIC, Nordic residence or none), which is covered in healthcare as a tourist and EHIC and GHIC in Sweden.
What a video visit costs a resident
Because the apps are public care, the fee follows regional rules. Each region decides its own patient fees, you pay the fees of the region where you receive care, and nobody aged 85 or over pays outpatient fees at all. Providers apply this in different ways: Kry says the price is based on the region where you are registered and shows the amount before you confirm, while Min Doktor charges the fee of its Sörmland health centre.
Several things help keep the bill down:
- Age-based free care. Min Doktor charges nothing for ages 0–19 and over 84. Kry says free healthcare stops from 1 January of the year you turn 20, where your region applies it.
- The fee ceiling. Your frikort (fee exemption card) applies in the apps. Kry says it is valid for video visits, with manual entry in Västerbotten, Skåne, Gävleborg, Blekinge and Örebro.
- Receipts. SKR recommends that regions count fees paid to digital providers toward your annual high-cost ceiling (högkostnadsskydd) on request against a receipt, so keep them.
- Late cancellation. A no-show or late cancellation costs a fee set by the region, usually a little higher than the standard one.
What changed in 2026. SKR’s recommended out-of-region payment for a digital doctor contact fell from SEK 500, the 2019 level, to SEK 435 (as of the April 2026 recommendation), for regions to apply by 1 June 2026. That sum is paid between regions and includes your patient fee; it is not what you pay. Pages describing the 2019 system are out of date.
Prescriptions and sick notes
A Swedish digital doctor can prescribe after a proper assessment. The prescription goes into the national e-prescription register, which any Swedish pharmacy can read. For a patient without a personnummer, an electronic prescription must instead be sent to one specific pharmacy.
The limits come mostly from the providers and from how contacts are paid:
- No narcotic or antibiotic repeats. Min Doktor says it does not renew prescriptions for narcotic-classed medicines or for antibiotics; you can submit a new case for a fresh assessment.
- No payment for a renewal without assessment. Under SKR’s 2026 criteria, renewing a prescription or extending sick leave without a new documented medical assessment is not a payable digital contact, which gives providers every reason to insist on a real consultation.
- Short sick notes. Min Doktor’s doctors as a rule do not sign off for more than 14 days and do not backdate. The rules on certificates are in sick leave in Sweden.
- No samples by video. Min Doktor notes that for patients abroad it can assess, advise and prescribe, but it cannot arrange sampling. Some problems need a clinic.
A foreign doctor’s e-prescription will not help you here either. Swedish pharmacies dispense prescriptions from abroad only when they are paper prescriptions from another EEA country; see pharmacies in Sweden.
What visitors do instead
None of this means you go without care. The routes that work without BankID are older and simpler:
- Phone 1177. From a foreign phone dial +46 771 11 77 00. You can wait in the queue without entering a personnummer. The nurse assesses you and tells you where to go, and in some regions the call may continue by video. See 1177 medical advice.
- Go to a health centre or out-of-hours clinic. Care runs on a substitute reservnummer when you have no Swedish number.
- Ask your travel insurer. If you have travel insurance, ask its assistance line whether a video consultation is included before paying out of pocket.
- Call 112 for anything life-threatening. Doktor.se itself says its app is not for emergencies.
Practical information
| Item | What applies | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| App video visit, adult resident | A regional patient fee: Min Doktor SEK 100, Kry SEK 275 in its standard table, Region Östergötland’s own apps SEK 250 | checked 2026-10-14 |
| Ages 0–19 and over 84 | Free at Min Doktor; free by law from 85; otherwise regional | checked 2026-10-14 |
| Late cancellation | Regional fee, usually a little above the standard fee | checked 2026-10-14 |
| 1177 from a foreign phone | +46 771 11 77 00, ordinary call rate | checked 2026-10-14 |
| Emergency | 112 | checked 2026-10-14 |
| Out-of-region payment (not paid by you) | SEK 435 per doctor contact, SKR recommendation | checked 2026-10-14 |
FAQ
Can a tourist use Kry or Min Doktor in Sweden?
Usually not. Kry starts with a BankID login, Doktor.se requires BankID, and Min Doktor says it cannot book a visit without a Swedish personnummer. BankID is issued only to people with a personnummer, which comes with registration for stays of a year or more. Visitors should phone 1177 on +46 771 11 77 00 or walk into a health centre instead.
How much does a video doctor visit cost in Sweden?
It is a regional patient fee, not a private price, because the apps run inside public primary care. At the providers checked in October 2026, an adult visit cost between SEK 100 and SEK 275, and patients under 20 or over 84 often pay nothing. The amount appears before you confirm, and a frikort applies.
Do I need a personnummer to see a doctor online in Sweden?
In practice, yes. Every app checked logs patients in with Swedish BankID, and SKR’s 2026 rules pay providers only for contacts preceded by strong electronic identification. A coordination number does not get you BankID. Without a personnummer, use the 1177 phone line, which needs no login, or a physical clinic.
Can a Swedish digital doctor prescribe medicine?
Yes, after a proper assessment. The prescription goes into the national e-prescription register, and any Swedish pharmacy can dispense it. Limits come from the providers: Min Doktor, for example, does not renew prescriptions for narcotic-classed medicines or antibiotics. Since 2026, a renewal without a new documented medical assessment does not count as a payable digital contact.
Can exchange students use Kry or Min Doktor?
Only once they have a personnummer and Swedish BankID. Most exchange students staying under a year are not registered, so they have neither and cannot log in. Students in that position phone 1177, which needs no login, and visit the local health centre in person, where care is given on a substitute reservnummer if they have no Swedish number.
Is a video appointment with 1177 the same as Kry?
No. 1177 is the regions’ joint service: a nurse advice line plus a logged-in portal. Some regional clinics hold video calls booked through it, and in several regions a 1177 nurse can switch a phone call to video. Kry and similar apps are separate providers in the public system. Both need a Swedish e-ID for video.
Related guides
- Healthcare as a tourist — what you pay at a clinic, by entitlement
- 1177 medical advice — the phone line that works without BankID
- BankID for visitors — why the login wall exists and what to use instead
- Pharmacies in Sweden — which prescriptions a Swedish pharmacy can fill
- Healthcare for new residents — listing at a health centre and the fee ceilings once you have a personnummer
Facts verified 2026-10-14. Sources: Sveriges riksdag (Hälso- och sjukvårdslag 2017:30, Patientlag 2014:821, Lag 2026:1358), SKR, 1177, Läkemedelsverket, E-hälsomyndigheten, Västra Götalandsregionen, Region Jämtland Härjedalen and the providers named — full register in this topic’s source file. This is general information, not medical or legal advice. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.