“Switzerland is not a leader in digitization”

Companies like Mr. Thom, Nike, and JP Morgan already have branches in the Metaverse. Will there be digital Swica or Helsana meters soon?
Marcel Thomas: If the Metaverse develops further, it will also have a Swica or Helsana branch. Interesting questions arise for health insurers. For example, how do you deal with prescriptions or reimbursements? Of course, these companies must also take on their roles as healthcare partners in the metaverse. Until then, a lot has to happen in the Metaverse, just the first jumps at the moment.

What benefits do health insurers or healthcare companies see in Metaverse?
What you can do right now is psychiatric treatments such as so-called avoidance therapies. But the metaverse also opens up other channels for interaction with doctors. For example, they can use virtual reality glasses to evaluate how the patient’s recovery is progressing after surgeries. The Balgrist Hospital in Zurich also uses this principle: specialists from all over the world can use VR glasses to assist with operations. Training scenarios can also be easily reproduced in Metaverse. Thus, the body parts of the deceased are no longer needed, for example in the treatment of complex fractures. Another very important area is digital twins. Your own avatar is fed with personal health data to simulate the effects of drugs.

The doctor and the patient can then be in two different places. Personal trust is very important, especially when it comes to medical treatment. Isn’t too much tech a deterrent?
That’s how it is, people want to stay in touch with their doctor. But there are exceptions. On the one hand, the Covid pandemic has shown us that people are willing to be examined digitally, especially if they have minor complaints. The second exception is serious cases. After surgery or chemotherapy, the immune system becomes very weak. Every visit to the hospital is extremely risky. It may be advantageous to provide information digitally. In these cases, you already know the doctor personally. If the expert who can save their life is abroad, people will be happy if a “stranger” can help digitally.

Virtual reality glasses are still pretty bulky devices. What steps need to be taken towards usability?
For the Metaverse experience to be truly compelling, the glasses need to evolve. Current VR glasses are too heavy to be worn all day. However, technology will evolve rapidly.

Data protection is also an important issue in the health sector. Doesn’t the loss of control increase as digitalization increases?
Of course, there is a risk as you collect more and more data. There are ways to better protect data, but this is often not done. Cyber ​​attacks can only be slowed down, not completely prevented. However, things are always over-dramatized in the field of digitization. The doctor’s on-paper patient data can also be lost or fall into the wrong hands. Demonize technology.

Metaverse is a very broad term that refers to the platforms of different companies. Should the Swiss healthcare industry develop its own solutions or is it better to work with the big players?
There will be various platforms connected to each other. A Swiss solution that ends at national borders makes no sense. Instead, there will be Swiss websites that can be accessed from anywhere in the world.

How does the Swiss healthcare sector compare to other countries when it comes to digitalisation?
Switzerland is certainly not the leader here and is not overly dominant compared to its German-speaking neighbors. With its small population and great wealth, Switzerland may actually be the leader. There are good beginnings, but there is not as much money pumped into digitization in this country as, for example, the United States, India, China or the UK. The identification of fax machines used in Swiss hospitals during the Corona period was not good.

Would you like more government incentives to address Switzerland’s backwardness in digitalization?
I don’t think the state should act alone, but the Confederation should specifically provide incentives for research. The government should provide financial support for innovations and new systems, set clear rules and establish interfaces.

Large companies, in particular, often have a hard time dealing with change and digitization. Are Swiss companies in the healthcare industry willing to invest time and money in new technologies?
The money is definitely there. Healthcare costs in Switzerland are constantly rising, so there is motivation for change. Many pharmaceutical companies also operate internationally and have to keep up with foreign competition. But is the pressure big enough to warrant immediate change in the Swiss healthcare industry? We still rely on our well-being and our very good medical system thus far. Unfortunately, due to the excellent infrastructure available, new technologies are only seen as an additional medium.

Currently Metaverse and Co. it is just an additional channel. In how many years will they become standard?
Telemedicine skyrocketed during the Corona crisis. But this was a special occasion. It will take some time before Metaverse becomes the standard for medical examinations, as the technology is not advanced enough at the moment. It will be faster for individual, simple clinical pictures, but probably the surgeries will continue to be done physically for now (laughs).