Concept programmes to support healthcare design. Analysis and discussion of the Swedish case

Against the backdrop of the complex healthcare design process and the absence of national regulations on the functional and spatial organisation of healthcare facilities, this paper discusses the Swedish use of non-regulatory Concept Programmes, i.e. orientation tools for the conceptual stages of design conceived to facilitate the systematic transfer of knowledge from research and best practices to the design practice. A comparison is also made with the design approach and the norm in the Italian context, stimulating a two-fold debate on: the tools and methods needed to guide the design of primary care facilities; the process that should lead to the definition of such tools.