1st MedLunch: "Man is not a Toyota"

This is what had to be discussed at the 1st MedLunch: the population's demand for services continues to increase and "with it, costs are also rising, which have already reached a high level", Richard Münger, as Rector of the Juventus School of Medicine and moderator, states by way of introduction. Renowned experts from the Swiss healthcare sector discussed the future of Swiss healthcare at the MedLunch of the Juventus Schools and presented insights into their approaches to solutions.

Demographic change, digitalisation and high costs are just some of the challenges facing Switzerland's healthcare sector today. Dr Stefan Spycher, Vice-Director and Head of the FOPH's Health Policy Division, says: "Over the next ten years, our healthcare system will undergo major changes. Certain aspects of this are foreseeable: we will have many more elderly people in Switzerland in the future, who will also live longer and may therefore become chronically ill."

Practice coordinators wanted

"In the future, more care services will be needed, especially in the inpatient area, which are managed by interdisciplinary teams where medical practice coordinators play an increasingly important role," emphasises Prof. Pietro Giovanoli, Clinic Director of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery at the University Hospital Zurich. The extent to which digitalisation and the resulting increased efficiency can offer relief, particularly in the diagnostic area, needs to be discussed.

"What is certain, however, is that everywhere there is a certain degree of reliance on digitized steps in the process, but they do not make humans superfluous. In London, for example, 40,000 people are already using a novel app called "GP at Hand", which relies on artificial intelligence for initial diagnosis. With this app, people can easily check whether a video chat with a doctor is necessary. If the app finds that a conversation makes sense, a doctor joins in to determine whether a doctor's office should be visited in a short video chat.

"The advantages of digitalisation are obvious in the diagnostic field. Especially in complicated image evaluations, artificial intelligence is an extremely efficient aid," confirms Dr Carlos Beat Quinto, member of the FMH Central Board for Public Health and Health Professions. "Nevertheless, humans are not Toyota! There is no human standard to which a machine can reliably refer.

Diseases and symptoms manifest themselves differently in each person and thus also in the genders. That is why much of the work in healthcare will continue to be done by people for people. Trust and relationships are and will remain important to us because they are the basis of efficient treatment."

Different cultural influences

It is precisely this trust that is important to patients when they go to the hospital or doctor with a concern. The professional and social skills of the doctor play an equally important role here. "It is important to train these skills in a targeted and practical manner," emphasizes Dr. Elisabeth Steger Vogt, principal of wittlin stauffer ag and member of the executive board of Juventus Schulen. As an expert in management training in the healthcare sector, Steger Vogt is familiar with the challenges faced by healthcare companies on a day-to-day basis:

"We are dependent on skilled workers from abroad. It is important to understand and take into account the different cultural influences of the employees, which is specifically trained in cultural management. There is an increased need for a mentality that is cross-cultural and, above all, integrative. Only an interplay of all players will secure our sensitive healthcare system, where intercultural and interprofessional competencies are of growing importance if tried and tested things are to continue to bear fruit and be expanded."

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