Guðrún Ása appointed managing director of Klíníkin

Klíníkin has appointed Guðrún Ása Björnsdóttir, a specialist physician, as its Managing Director. Guðrún Ása will assume her role in the new year. For the past year and a half, she has served as the professional assistant to the Minister of Health but is now stepping down from that position.

Guðrún Ása holds a BS degree in biochemistry from the University of Iceland, an MB ChB degree in medicine from the University of Warwick in the UK, and is currently pursuing a PhD in medicine at the University of Iceland.

Guðrún Ása holds a specialist licence in internal medicine and has extensive experience within the healthcare system. Alongside her work as a physician, she has conducted research and taught at the University of Iceland.

Guðrún Ása was the chairperson of the Icelandic Association of Junior Doctors, sat on the board of the Icelandic Medical Association, and on the editorial board of the Icelandic Medical Journal from 2018 to 2020. She sat on Landspítali University Hospital's medical council from 2017 to 2020. She has served on various committees and working groups on behalf of the Ministry of Health, Landspítali, the Primary Health Care of the Capital Area, and the Icelandic Medical Association. Among other roles, she sat on the negotiating committee of the Icelandic Medical Association from 2019 to 2021 and chaired the association's negotiating committee.

About Klíníkin

Sigurður Ingibergur Björnsson, a mathematician, was appointed Managing Director of Klíníkin in 2020. Under his leadership, Klíníkin has flourished and grown tremendously, with operations more than tripling. Sigurður Ingibergur will step down from the role of Managing Director when Guðrún Ása takes over next year, and will then assume leadership of a subsidiary of Klíníkin. This subsidiary develops software solutions designed for healthcare service providers with the goal of making the healthcare system simpler and more efficient.

Klíníkin employs 23 specialist physicians and 47 nurses and other specialised staff. The staff is dedicated to providing personalised service with the best interests of the clients at heart. The main goal of Klíníkin is to lay the foundation for an enhanced quality of life in the long term.

The main specialties of Klíníkin are related to orthopaedics, breast medicine, bariatric surgery, gynaecology, plastic surgery, and gastroenterology. Klíníkin has an agreement with Icelandic Health Insurance (SÍ) regarding several surgical groups and has collaborated with the authorities to reduce waiting lists for surgeries, including joint replacements. The staff at Klíníkin operates as a strong, unified team to diagnose issues, advise on solutions, perform necessary operations, and follow them up in cooperation with patients to ensure that recovery is as lasting as possible.