Less data protection but better advice: Helsana’s boss wants transparent patient

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The Swiss healthcare system is becoming increasingly expensive. So is the giant statue, which currently costs around 37 billion francs, really good? Helsana analyzes this in a new report on quality. Health insurance also indicates construction sites and possible measures to combat them. And he breaks a taboo: Helsana boss Roman Sonderegger (50) wants transparent insurance customers!

“Because health insurers have a wealth of health data about their insureds, they can demonstrate tangible improvements in medical care,” explains CEO Sonderegger in a statement accompanying the report. Sonderegger told CH Media that the lack of transparency and the regulatory provisions currently in place will hinder quality competition between various hospitals, practices or therapists.

Less data protection, lower healthcare costs

Data protection for patients must therefore be relaxed at the expense of better advice and, at the same time, lower costs. In the future, a health insurance company could inform customers about beneficial treatments or warn them if they take medications too frequently. The latter in particular remains a major deficiency in Swiss healthcare today, according to the Helsana report.

In Switzerland, opioid painkillers are prescribed much more frequently than recommended. This trend is also evident in another group of drugs: Sales of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), also known as stomach acid blockers, continue to rise. It is now one of the most commonly sold active ingredients. A very high dose is often prescribed, especially for older people. This is “concerning” because of possible side effects such as pneumonia and osteoporosis.

The report, which examines four specific treatment methods, also criticizes the lack of preliminary examinations against colon cancer and the inadequate support given to diabetic patients with chronic diseases.

Helsana follows civilian demands

Sonderegger and Helsana are also following up on civic demands in Bern with calls for greater transparency: At the initiative of FDP National Assembly Member Andri Silberschmidt (29), the parliamentary preliminary health committee recently included a corresponding proposal in the final package of measures. Reducing costs in the healthcare system put forward by the Federal Council.

Health insurance companies should be able to provide “individual information” to their customers. That is, “about the services they receive, measures to prevent diseases and proposals aimed at improving the efficiency and coordination of the provision of medical services.” With the consent of the insured, doctors must be able to provide information about the services received by the insured.

But the project, which will come to parliament in the third week of the current session, is not without controversy: left-wing parties in particular are reluctant to weaken data protection in favor of insurers.

Source :Blick