Electronic Patient Dossier (EPD)
It is a collection of patient-bound documents with health-related information, to which various actors have access after the patient's consent. The EPD does not contain all electronically recorded patient health information, but only that which is relevant for specialists and for further treatment. Until now, such information has been stored locally and subject-specifically, and data sometimes even had to be sent back and forth by mail for exchange. The EPD aims to counteract this. It provides a uniform tool that bundles information in one place and makes it accessible at any time, linking health professionals across cantonal borders and thus improving therapies and reducing duplication.
Since August 2022, it has been possible for everyone in Switzerland to open an EPD. It works nationwide. An important point here is that the EPD is based on a solid legal foundation, the Federal Electronic Patient Dossier Act (EPDG). This regulates, for example, that each patient can decide for themselves who may access the EPD, what tasks the providers have, and it ensures the highest level of security.
Hospitals, birth centers and nursing homes are already obliged to use the EPD and to enter all treatment-relevant information in it. In addition, almost 15 percent of all doctors' practices are now connected, and 5 percent of pharmacies.
With the revision of the law, which the Federal Council submitted for consultation in June 2023, it wants to ensure the EPD along the entire treatment chain, i.e. also make it mandatory for doctors, pharmacies, physiotherapists and other outpatient service providers as well as psychotherapists.
In the future, the EPD will also serve as an electronic vaccination card. This will make the paper vaccination booklet superfluous. Data from preventive medical checkups can also be integrated into the EPD. And in the future, it will be possible to integrate data on pulse or blood pressure directly from a smartwatch into the EPD.
In order to achieve the goals, it is necessary to involve all players - and to ensure good coordination and information. This role is assumed by the FOPH and eHealth Suisse. The FOPH prepares the legal basis for the Federal Council and Parliament (including monitoring and evaluation) and provides information about the EPD. However, since health care is basically the responsibility of the cantons, a hub is needed to ensure coordination between the federal government and the cantons. This task is the responsibility of eHealth Suisse.
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