SWITZERLAND Trends and Developments Contributed by: Tobias Meili and André Berne, Wenger Plattner
len , or HFs) and universities of applied sci- ences ( Fachhochschules , or FHs); and • authorise care staff to directly bill specific medical services to social insurance funds, thereby eliminating the need for a doctor’s prescription. Additional measures are currently under consid- eration. In addition, a national monitoring programme for care staff has been introduced that aims to systematically assess the impact of measures implemented based on the Care Initiative over an extended duration. This aims to provide to the federal government, cantons, and employ- ers with a specific management instrument that determines the conditions within the various care sectors and to monitor in detail the con- sequences of the measures. The data recorded includes the number of vacancies, completed training courses, attrition rate, care staff count, and patient-perceived quality of care. Continued development of digitisation of Swiss healthcare system Telemedicine solutions thrive and are widely recognised in Switzerland. Many companies are active in this sector and provide telemedicine solutions, telemedical consultations, and remote monitoring of vital parameters. Hence, an impor- tant part of Swiss population has already been exposed to telemedicine. By way of example, numerous providers of telemedicine services offer health insurance companies the opportuni- ty to serve as their policyholders’ family doctors and/or medical gatekeepers. It is to be expected that the spreading of telemedicine services will continue and that telemedicine companies oper- ating in Switzerland will aim for European expan- sion in the medium term.
A further digitisation of the Swiss healthcare system is to be carried out with the programme “DigiSanté” , which was launched on 1 January 2025. The programme consists of approximate- ly 50 distinct projects, all designed to advance digital transformation in the healthcare sector. These projects encompass legislative initiatives, software development, and the establishment of nationally co-ordinated guidelines for standardi- sation. Given that data constitutes a central ele- ment of digital transformation, standardised data structures and content shall be implemented to ensure that systems work together smoothly (ie, are interoperable) and that information only needs to be recorded once (the “once-only principle” ). DigiSanté aims to establish specific regulations for data access and utilisation by various stakeholders, alongside the digitisation and co-ordination of governmental services and the provision of centralised services, including registers, interfaces, and identifiers. Such measures will be implemented not only when providing medical services but also in their billing procedures. Thus, envisaged amend- ments to the HIA that are currently undergoing the consultation process aim to uphold the once- only principle in matters of social insurance law as well. Service providers of inpatient hospital care shall in the future be obliged to centrally transmit certain data to a platform managed by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office. As the one- only principle has not been consistently applied so far, hospitals frequently need to submit identi- cal data multiple times to various authorities. By establishing the once-only principle in the future, the revision aims to eliminate redundant surveys, to organise data flows more transparently, and to enhance and access potential applications of the data.
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