Our mission: To advance good and safe health care services, health promotion, and effective disease prevention.

Our values: Accountability — Respect — Trust

Our vision: Health and well-being based on health promotion, disease prevention, and accessible and safe health care supported by the best knowledge and experience available at any given time.

The main functions of the Directorate of Health are guided by the Medical Director of Health and Public Health Act no. 41/2007: To advise the Minister of Health and other Government bodies, health professionals, and the public on health, disease prevention, and health promotion matters. To sponsor and organize public health initiatives along with monitoring their effectiveness. To promote improvements in health care quality. To supervise the health care services and health care professionals.To monitor prescription medicines and promote their prudent use by individuals and health care professionals. To collect and process health and healthcare services data and promote research in that field. This includes maintaining national registers on health, diseases, drug prescriptions, births, deaths, and the work and performance of health services. To handle complaints from healthcare users. To issue licenses to practice to health care professionals and ensure that their education meets requirements at all times. To be responsible for the implementation of infectious-disease control measures, cf. the Act on Health Security and Communicable Diseases.

Team Members:
Sigríður Haralds Elínardóttir
Gudny Bergthora Tryggvadottir
Halla Thorhallsdottir