Denmark

Go back to Cancer Centers list.

Cancer Centers

Vejle Cancer Centre – The Patients’ Cancer Hospital part of Lillebaelt Hospital

Healthcare System

Denmark operates a universal healthcare system that provides services to all residents, financed primarily through general and local proportional income taxes. The system is decentralized, with the Ministry of Health gradually assuming a more centralized role for overall planning and regulation.

The country is divided into five regions, each responsible for detailed health service planning and delivery in hospitals. General practitioners (GPs), mostly self-employed in private practices, form the primary care base, functioning as gatekeepers to specialist and hospital care. Residents are required to register with a GP to access these services. Almost all hospitals, which provide both inpatient and outpatient care, including 24-hour emergency care, are regionally owned and operated, with fewer than 5% of beds in private hospitals.

Municipalities shoulder the responsibility for health promotion, disease prevention, rehabilitation, home care, and non-specialized long-term care. The National health authorities set care standards and monitor quality.

Healthcare data infrastructure, managed by MedCom, is based on a unique personal identification number (CPR number). Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are widely used, allowing for seamless information sharing among healthcare providers. Claims data, registries, and EHRs facilitate research, quality improvement, and reimbursement processes.

Administrative or Claims Data

Database: The Danish National Patient Registry (DNPR)

Database: The National Health Insurance Service Register (SSR)

Database: The Medicines Statistics Register (NPR)

Registries

Database: The Danish Cancer Register

Databases Compilation: RKKP's Clinical Quality Databases

Database: Hospital Utilization Information

Database: The Cause of Death Register (DAR)

Database: Cancer Survivorship

Clinical Practices Guidelines

Danish Cancer Society Guidelines

Sponsor, manager or home institution: Kræftens Bekæmpelse.

Primary purpose: To provide various tools and guidelines for working with cancer rehabilitation and upgrading palliative care for cancer patients in practice.

Type of information: Information on breast cancer rehabilitation, rehabilitation for head and neck cancer, a palliation app, clinical guidance for general practice, recommendations for palliative care, and a palliative care guide with treatments, social support, checklists, etc.

Access to information: List of palliation guidelines [1] and rehabilitation guidelines [2].

Latest Policymaking Initiatives

Reports: RKKP Screenings

Sponsor, manager or home institution: Regionernes Kliniske Kvalitetsudviklingsprogram (RKKP).

Primary purpose: Aim to provide insights into healthcare treatment quality and play a vital role in enhancing the effectiveness and outcomes of the healthcare system.

Type of information: Annual cancer reports and screenings, such as cancer incidence for various cancer types.

Data level: National level.

Access to information: Access Information [3].

Report: Kræftens Bekæmpelse 2021

Sponsor, manager or home institution: Danish Cancer Society.

Primary purpose: To offer knowledge that can improve the overall quality of the cancer journey, from early interventions to supporting the growing number of Danish individuals living with and beyond cancer, ensuring a good quality of life for them.

Type of information: Include information about improving patient care, preventive measures, cancer risks, prevention, cancer during corona pandemic, cancer in numbers, screenings and diagnostics, treatments and palliative care.

Data level: National level.

Access to information: Access Information [4].

Report: EU Country Cancer Profile 2023

Sponsor, manager or home institution: OECD and European Commission.

Primary purpose: To provide reliable data on cancer prevention and care, identifying trends, disparities, and inequalities among EU Member States and regions to guide interventions under Europe's Beating Cancer Plan.

Type of information: National cancer burden; Cancer incidence and mortality; Risk factors for cancer; Early detection programs (screenings); Cancer care performance, The impact of COVID-19 on cancer care.

Data level: National level.

Access to information: Access Information [5].

Reports: Annual reports on new cancer cases

Sponsor, manager or home institution: The Danish Health Data Agency.

Primary purpose: To provide the public, healthcare professionals, researchers, and policymakers with data on new cancer cases reported to the Cancer Register in Denmark.

Type of information: Number of new cancer cases; Age-standardized incidence rate; Prevalence; Trends and developments in new cancer cases.

Data level: National level.

Access to information: Access Information [6].

Cancer-related Patient Associations and Resources

Compilation: ESMO Patient Guides

Sponsor, manager or home institution: European Society for Medical Oncology

Primary purpose: To translate complex medical language into understandable information for patients.

Available guides: Bone Health in Cancer; Cancer Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic; Cancer Pain Management; Immunotherapy Side Effects; Personalised Cancer Medicine; Survivorship; AML; Biliary Tract Cancer; Bladder Cancer; Bone Sarcoma; Breast Cancer; Cervical Cancer; CML; Colorectal Cancer; Endometrial Cancer; Follicular Lymphoma; Glioma; Head and Neck Cancer; Hepatocellular Carcinoma; Multiple Myeloma; Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer; Oesophageal Cancer; Ovarian Cancer; Pancreatic Cancer; Prostate Cancer; Soft Tissue Sarcoma; Stomach Cancer; Testicular Cancer.

Type of information: Information on each guide varies for each cancer type. Generally, guides provide definitions, explanations of causes, diagnosis, treatment, treatment options, care after treatment, among others.

Access to information: List of guides [7].

Quality of Life and Palliative Care Research

List of Articles: Quality of Life [8] and Palliative Care [9].