[On-duty medical service regulation in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark].

Out of hours services are under discussion in the Nordic countries, and their organisations in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark are compared in the article. Only in Denmark all such services are free of charge. In Denmark and in most parts of Norway, the patient must first phone a call-in service manned by a physician who acts as receptionist cum dispatcher. House calls are very rarely made in Sweden and Finland but account for approximately 20 percent of the out of hours workload in Norway and Denmark.