Swiss healthcare system: Only average in terms of transparency

The Swiss healthcare system is in a state of upheaval - for example the hospitals in questions of financing and quality assurance of their services. More transparency should improve the quality of medical care and contribute to more stable costs in the long term. KPMG's global study "Transparency in Healthcare" compared 32 healthcare systems on six aspects of transparency and mapped them in an index.

Specific service areas

The transparency of service provision, patient satisfaction, finances, governance, access to personal health data and communication of the health data collected were examined. Switzerland achieved an overall index value of 53% and ranks only in the international midfield. Denmark (74%), Finland (72%) and Sweden (71%) top the transparency rankings in healthcare.

Different aspects of transparency

The Swiss healthcare system performs very differently in the transparency aspects examined: while transparency in the Swiss healthcare system is relatively high in governance (69%), patient satisfaction (69%) and finances (67%), it shows great potential for improvement in the communication of the healthcare data collected (36%) and the quality of service provision (33%).

• Due to the principle of public access and freedom of information that applies in Switzerland, the Swiss healthcare system achieves a good index value of 69% for governance. The frontrunners in this aspect are Denmark and New Zealand, each with 94%.
• Many Swiss service providers evaluate and publish patient satisfaction. They also offer a complaints management system through which patients can provide feedback on their treatment and find out at any time about the current processing status of their feedback. Accordingly, Switzerland has a good index value of 69% for patient satisfaction. Israel leads the ranking with 92%.
• The Swiss healthcare system is also comparatively transparent in financial terms (67%). This is helped by the fact that health insurance premiums and the overview of tariffs for medical services are set and publicly published by the Federal Council, but also by the fact that most hospitals, insurance companies, laboratory facilities and other market participants publish annual reports.
• In contrast, the Swiss healthcare system has a relatively large backlog when it comes to transparency in the quality of service provision (33%) and the communication of the healthcare data collected (36%). Although the Swiss health care system is characterized by a comprehensive reporting system for medical services rendered and their consequences, there is no obligation for service providers to make this data publicly accessible. Finland is the undisputed leader with an index value of 93%.

 You can find out more about this study "Transparency in the health care system" at this Link