Media conference How Baume-Schneider wants to regulate the e-patient dossier

Dominik Müller

27.9.2024

What about the Swiss bid for the 2038 Olympics? And what about the electronic patient file? Federal Councillors Amherd and Baume-Schneider will provide information at 13:00 and 14:30 respectively.

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  • At 1 p.m., Sports Minister Viola Amherd spoke about Switzerland's bid for the 2038 Olympic Games.
  • At 2.30 p.m., Health Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider will speak about the electronic patient file.

Two media conferences will be held on Friday during today's Federal Council meeting. At 1 p.m., President of the Swiss Confederation and Sports Minister Viola Amherd will provide information on a personnel matter and the next steps regarding Switzerland's 2038 Olympic candidacy.

At 2.30 p.m., Health Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider will speak on the subject of the decision on variants to the comprehensive revision of the Federal Act on the Electronic Patient Record.

Federal Council backs Olympic plans for 2038

The 2038 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games are to be held in Switzerland. The Federal Council backed the corresponding plans on Friday and will support them financially. The extent to which this will happen was initially unclear.

The Federal Council sees the Games as a "great opportunity for the country", as it announced. Among other things, it is thinking of the further development of sport, technical innovations, the promotion of social cohesion and Switzerland's reputation. "Major international sporting events can trigger positive impulses in society and the economy."

The national government decided to support the bid work of the "2038 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games" association for a possible staging of the Games in 14 years' time with a working group until the end of 2027. Sports Minister Viola Amherd's department must draw up a planning decision by the end of June 2026 that sets out the time, financial and material parameters for the Confederation's support of the project.

Sandra Felix will also become the new Director of the Federal Office of Sport. On Friday, the Federal Council appointed her as the successor to Matthias Remund, who will move to the International University Sports Federation at the beginning of 2025. Felix will take office on November 1, 2024.

Federal Council insists on central solution for e-patient dossier

The Federal Council wants to help the electronic patient dossier achieve a breakthrough with a comprehensive revision of the relevant legislation. It is now proposing that the technical infrastructure be centralized with the federal government.

The federal government made this decision on Friday. According to the press release, it will include the amendment in the dispatch to be submitted to Parliament in spring 2025. The councils will then decide on the major reform.

In order to further improve the electronic patient record (EPR), it is to be used on a mandatory basis along the entire treatment chain in future. In addition to hospitals and care facilities, outpatient service providers such as doctors, pharmacists, physiotherapists and chiropractors are to be obliged to join the EPR and enter all treatment-relevant data.

In future, everyone should receive an EPR automatically and free of charge. Anyone who does not want a dossier should be able to object.