eHealth Switzerland 2.0 Strategy

The strategy outlined in the document ‘eHealth Switzerland 2.0 Strategy’ for the period 2018–2024 focuses on the introduction and dissemination of the electronic patient dossier (EPD) in Switzerland. It represents a joint effort by the federal government and the cantons to coordinate the digitisation of the healthcare system specifically around the EPD. Here are the key points:

Vision and Goals

1. Vision: The strategy aims to enhance the quality, safety, and efficiency of the healthcare system through digitalisation. It emphasises that people in Switzerland should be digitally competent and able to use new technologies optimally for their health. Health institutions and professionals should be digitally connected, exchanging information electronically along the treatment chain, and reusing data effectively.
2. Health Policy Goals:
   • Improvement of Treatment Quality: By ensuring relevant treatment information is accessible to all health professionals involved in the patient’s care.
   • Increase in Patient Safety: By making relevant information available to avoid serious incidents, mistreatments, and fatalities.
   • Enhancement of Efficiency: Through digital data capture and networking to streamline processes and eliminate redundancies.
   • Coordinated Care and Interprofessionalism: Digital networking simplifies communication and information exchange across treatment processes.
   • Promotion of Health Competence: Empowering patients to make informed decisions regarding their health data.

Main Areas of Action

1. Promoting Digitisation:
   • General Digitisation in Healthcare: Raising awareness about the potential and risks of digitisation, replacing paper-based processes, and adjusting payment systems to reflect digitalisation costs and savings.
   • Electronic Patient Dossier (EPD): Ensuring the EPD and its applications are well-integrated and used by health professionals, promoting interoperability and data security.
   • Mobile Health (mHealth): Encouraging the integration of mHealth applications with the EPD and addressing regulatory requirements.
   • Cybersecurity: Strengthening cybersecurity measures to protect health data and IT infrastructure.
2. Coordinating Digitisation:
   • Data and Infrastructure Reuse: Ensuring digital processes are coordinated to maximise efficiency and data reuse across health and administrative processes.
   • Interoperability: Establishing clear technical and semantic standards to ensure different IT systems can work together seamlessly.
   • Use of International Standards: Adopting and promoting international standards to ensure interoperability and resource efficiency.
3. Enabling Digitisation:
   • Informing and Empowering the Population: Ensuring the population is well-informed about the EPD and able to use digital health tools competently.
   • Training Health Professionals: Providing health professionals with the necessary skills to use digital tools effectively and ensuring their active participation in the digital health ecosystem.

Implementation and Coordination

• Responsibilities: The strategy’s implementation involves the federal government, cantons, eHealth Suisse, and various communities. It relies on the active collaboration of all relevant stakeholders.
• Resources and Financing: Allocation of necessary resources and financing to support the various initiatives outlined in the strategy.

The strategy emphasises the importance of data protection, data security, and the informational self-determination of patients throughout the digital transformation of the healthcare system.