Sweden

Can one speak of a French or a Chinese or an American school of medical research—each with its special characteristics and contributions? A century ago perhaps one could; but not today. With our fast communications and easy travel, research is the nearest thing we have to a global community. For much of it, the setting is almost irrelevant; whether in Denver or Delhi, what matters is whether it is up to international standard. Yet nations themselves are far from uniform. They differ in prosperity, health services, climate, culture, and a host of other factors that can be exploited by researchers with imaginative flair. If you ask why country X has made outstanding contributions to subject Y, the answer will often be found in just one or two individuals who recognised the special local opportunities (together with a funding body that had the vision to offer long-term support). This collection of papers, about Sweden, is the first of a series designed to illustrate the theme. Our guide is Johan Giesecke, from Stockholm, who chose the participants and wrote the closing piece. We begin with Johan Calltorp, on the setting for most clinical research—the health services.