National Swedish Board of Health (Swedish: Medicinalstyrelsen) was a Swedish government agency between 1878 and 1968, with responsibility for the health and medical services and the pharmacy services. All the activities in the field of public health in Sweden (including medical care) are either operated or controlled by public authorities. Public health is under the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, the chief of which is a member of the cabinet. The National Swedish Board of Health was the principal instrument of the State for governing, superintending and promoting the activities and the work of the institutions pertaining to this field. The board supervised the medical personnel, the hospitals and the pharmacies and had the direct control of the State Pharmaceutical Laboratory, the