Submitted text
The canton of Basel-Stadt is asking the federal councils to adjust the framework conditions so that the Swiss healthcare system to be digitized as quickly as possible and thus evolve into a networked healthcare data ecosystem can. Switzerland now needs
- a common Infrastructure, with which health data can be collected, processed, stored, shared and also deleted;
- Common technical, data protection and ethical Standardswhich regulate how this data is to be recorded and structured;
- Reconnaissance, building trust and acceptance of such a foundation;
- regulatory framework and incentives;
- Education and training of professionals with strong digital skills;
- a sustainable Funding and investments in the digitization of healthcare.
Switzerland has some catching up to do in the digitization of the healthcare system. This is proven by several sources (Bertelsmann Digital-Health Index, OECD-Technical and Operational Readiness Index, study on digitalization in health research by BAK Economics, WHO ranks Switzerland far behind in the use of electronic patient dossiers) and the Corona pandemic has clearly shown us this. The Swiss healthcare system simply does not have a modern infrastructure to collect, store and share data.
Switzerland is used to a high level of prosperity and relies on a strong life sciences location. Life sciences exports currently account for over 51 percent of Switzerland’s total exports. In the future, we will only be able to maintain this if Switzerland is also at the forefront of digitalization in the healthcare sector and continues to develop. Such development steps have already been achieved several times in the Basel region: from the textile to the paint industry, from paint to chemistry, from chemistry to pharmaceuticals and biotechnological products. The data-based healthcare industry is another such major transformation. The Use of health-related data allows better treatment therapies, more targeted healthcare, but also more efficient research and development. Investments in business areas or companies active in the digital health sector are increasing worldwide. However, Switzerland is increasingly losing importance here and there is a shortage of specialists. Health data for research and development is used anonymously, encrypted or with consent in accordance with legal requirements. Despite these strict requirements, aggregated data is still not available in sufficient quantity.
The attractiveness of the life sciences industry in the Basel region – a draught horse of the Swiss economy – will decline in international comparison if the digitization of the healthcare system is not rapidly advanced. For the Basel region, the life sciences industry generates over a third of the total regional value added. Moreover, these industries employ over 32,000 people in the region. Switzerland stands to lose a great deal if the challenges of the transformation that has begun are not mastered. The course must be set quickly.
Industry and academia agree, and policymakers have recognized the need for action. The response to the Motion 21.3021 “Added value for research and society through data-based ecosystems in healthcare”. of the National Council’s Committee for Economic Affairs, Education and Culture also clearly shows: The wheels are turning too slowly, and there is a lack of a uniform and comprehensive master plan with measures.
A standing initiative of the canton of Basel-Stadt, which is particularly affected by insufficient digitization of the healthcare system, Lends particular emphasis to the special needs of the life sciences region.
Justification
The collection and structure of (clinical) data in the Swiss healthcare system is poorly regulated. Moreover, digital data processing is not yet widespread, especially in the outpatient sector and to some extent also in the long-term care sector. The financing system of the healthcare system creates only limited incentives for cooperation between the individual service providers. This leads to the fact that the existing health data is stored in individual systems that are fundamentally not linked to each other and their structure, semantics and metadata are not uniformly regulated. Interoperability does not exist across the board.
The digitization of the Swiss healthcare system is rather little advanced in international comparison, as the federal government also states in the “Health Policy Strategy of the Federal Council 2020 – 2030”. In its strategy, it emphasizes the importance of health data for both medical research and health care, as well as for maintaining and strengthening public health, and calls for the coordination of digitization in the health system among partners, which will enable the multiple use of data and infrastructures. In this context, the Canton of Basel-Stadt welcomes the decision of the Federal Council of May 4, 2022, which aims to create the conditions for the development of a data system for research in the health sector.
The “Swiss Personalized Health Network” (SPHN) also welcomes the direction of the initiative. Currently, health data are mostly stored in non-uniform formats and standards and often in inaccessible locations, which means that even where data can be shared, they are usually insufficiently described, not standardized and therefore hardly usable for further use. The SPNH therefore supports the development of an overarching strategy for data reuse within the context of appropriate federal legislation. Because data from outside the health system are also relevant to health issues, it also emphasizes that coordination across departments must be observed.
The coordination of health data is also considered important internationally. For example, Finland created “Findata” in 2019, a government agency that collects data from the health and social sectors and makes it available digitally. The goal here is to ensure data privacy and data security of health as well as social data and make it available for efficient monitored use. A data utilization law defines possible uses. The individual data can also be linked across different registers via a personal identifier. The Finnish population can decide on the provision of their own data by means of an opt-out option.
The Government Council of the Canton of Basel-Stadt is convinced that the Creating a national health data ecosystem is able to sustainably promote medical research and health care, thus making a valuable contribution to maintaining and strengthening public health and promoting the innovative strength of the local life science industry.