How digital is the Swiss healthcare system?

But what does the reality really look like?

The Swiss eHealth Barometer 2026 shows: the population is generally open to digitalization. However, they view the progress critically. Only 29 percent consider digitalization in healthcare to be highly advanced, 40 percent to be not very advanced. The FOPH also identifies a central hurdle: health data must today be captured several times in some cases and cannot be used across systems everywhere.

The task is therefore not to introduce as many digital tools as possible. What matters is that information is safely and structurally available where it is needed for care. This is exactly the aim of DigiSanté with seamless exchange of relevant health data. Digitalization becomes noticeable in everyday life when fewer pieces of information have to be entered twice and cooperation across institutional boundaries becomes easier.

29 %eher bis sehr weit fortgeschritten

40 %wenig weit fortgeschritten

31 %keine Einschätzung

BAG

Frequently asked questions

How does the Swiss population generally view digitalization in healthcare?

A clear majority sees digital health solutions as an important opportunity to improve access, efficiency, and quality of care. However, there are reservations: major concerns concern data protection and the fear of alienation due to too much technology. In addition, digital support is desired, but not a substitute for personal contact.

Why is the electronic patient dossier (EPD) so rarely used by the population despite its benefits?

Although the EPD is considered useful especially for emergencies, data protection concerns, administrative hurdles, and the assessment that professionals can work well together without an EPD hinder usage in the population.

Who does the population trust when accessing their health data?

Trust is distributed very unevenly: 83 percent of the population would grant treating doctors full access to their health data. Consent for full access is significantly more cautious for health insurers, research institutions, public bodies, and private companies (though there is potential with anonymized or restricted data).

How do health professionals rate digital documentation and hospital information systems (HIS)?

The electronic medical record (eMR) is already well established in medical practices and is generally viewed positively. Hospital information systems (HIS) are often criticized, as they frequently provide insufficient support in the hectic workday.

What is known about the national program “DigiSanté”?

The program is known to cantonal administrations and IT managers in hospitals, but still not widely known among the medical profession. In the coming years, DigiSanté will focus primarily on digital data exchange—especially medication and prescription data, laboratory orders and results, and discharge summaries.