The Confederation's national "eHealth" strategy

Compared with other countries, Switzerland is behind in the provision of electronic healthcare services (eHealth). Consequently, the Federal Council has drafted a national "eHealth" strategy. The aim of the strategy is to ensure access to a healthcare system that provides a high level of quality, efficiency and security whilst keeping costs to a minimum. To achieve this, every citizen will soon have a standardized electronic patient dossier.

Health insurance card

The Confederation has ruled that as of 1 January 2010, health insurance cards (chip cards) must be used, in accordance with the Swiss Health Insurance Law (KVG). Unlike the health insurance cards used in Germany, the Swiss cards will have the facility to contain medical information. However, the Swiss health insurance cards will not initially contain access codes for data networks.

Electronic health card

In contrast to a basic insurance card, which only aids administrative processes, the health card will provide access to a secure data network. The health card will also generally contain medical and personal data needed for administration and in emergencies, accessible only by persons holding a valid professional healthcare licence.

eHealth IG

At the beginning of 2008, leading national and international providers from the fields of IT, telecommunications and logistics, Swiss Post among them, founded the eHealth interest group (eHealth IG). The group's objective is to better exploit the potential of eHealth. Its members want to make healthcare processes more efficient and cheaper by making them electronic. The eHealth IG has a seat on the advisory panel to the Department for Home Affair's eHealth coordination committee, and on the council of health directors responsible for implementing the Confederations' eHealth strategy. The IG will assist the Confederation and cantons in drafting legislation. It is committed to ensuring that this conforms to recognized international standards and thus ensuring that eHealth technology is implemented uniformly throughout Switzerland.