The information platform (patientendossier.ch) for the electronic patient record (EPR) of eHealth Suisse, the federal government and the cantons has further information about the EPR.
Information about the electronic patient record (EPR)
Brief explanation of the EPR
The electronic patient record (EPR) is your personal digital collection of all important information about your health. This includes, for example, hospital and care reports, examination results, medication lists and your digital vaccination record. Alongside health professionals, you too can add documents such as emergency information, an organ donor card or your advance care directive. You can share these data securely and flexibly with your healthcare professionals – you decide who can see which information and when.
Your data, your control
The EPR gives you full control over your medical data. You and the health professionals you authorise can access them at any time via a secure internet connection.
Voluntary and free of charge
The EPR is voluntary and free of charge for everyone in Switzerland.* You can set up your EPR at any time and close it again if necessary.
Obligation for healthcare institutions
While the EPR is voluntary for individual citizens, affiliation with the EPR is mandatory for acute-care hospitals, rehab clinics, psychiatric clinics, nursing homes and birthing centres as well as for newly licensed medical practices (as of 2022). As of 2028, affiliation with the EPR will be mandatory for all healthcare institutions, including all outpatient healthcare institutions such as GP practices, pharmacies and Spitex organisations.
Confidential and protected
any person or organisation that is not involved in your treatment – such as an employer, a health insurer or a medical examiner from a health insurer as well as health professionals whom you have not authorised – does not have access to your EPR
* You can now set up your EPR completely online and free of charge in the cantons of Basel-Stadt, Basel-Land, Bern, Lucerne, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, St. Gallen, Ticino, Zug and Zurich. In all other Swiss cantons, setting up an EPR with the digital EPR self-onboarding service is subject to a one-off fee of CHF 15.
The benefits for you
Why set up an EPR?
With the EPR, you have full control over your health data and enjoy numerous benefits:
Full control over your EPR
You decide who can access your health data.
Access to your health data at any time
Your health data are available to you and to authorised health professionals via your EPR 24/7.
Maximum security
Your health data are secure and are stored exclusively in Switzerland in accordance with data protection regulations. .
Immediately available in an emergency
Vital information is immediately available in an emergency.
Digital vaccination certificate
All of your vaccination data are always available and securely stored.
Better treatment
Having information comprehensively available increases quality of treatment and patient safety.
Setting up an EPR deputy
Share or delegate the management of your EPR with or respectively to a trusted person.
EPR for the whole family
Parents can set up an EPR for their children, which is linked directly to their own EPR, so that all important health data about the family are always at hand, wherever they are.
Security
Your data in safe hands
Protecting your health data is an absolute priority. The EPR complies with the highest security standards and securely stores all data in encrypted form in Switzerland.
Highest security standards
Data protection and data security are vitally important for the EPR. The EPR is based on the strict requirements laid down by the Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) and the Federal Act on the Electronic Patient Record (EPRA). These ensure that your data are protected against unauthorised access and are stored securely. All EPR providers are regularly checked, certified and monitored to ensure the highest security standards.
Data encryption and decentralised storage
Your documents in the EPR are stored locally in encrypted form by a certified reference community. The data stores are located in Switzerland and are subject to Swiss law. This decentralised approach increases data security, as EPR documents are not stored centrally at one single storage location.
Traceable access to data
Every action in the EPR is recorded in the access log. Here you can see at any time who has accessed or added to which documents. Only you have access to this log, which guarantees transparency and control over your data.
Strict certification
The security of the EPR is guaranteed by comprehensive certification procedures. All EPR providers, including Sanela, issuers of electronic identities (eIDs), such as SwissID, and healthcare institutions must undergo stringent checks. Only certified providers are allowed to use the official EPR certification mark, which underscores their trustworthiness.
Secure identification
Access to the EPR requires a secure electronic identity (eID), which serves as a digital ID. All persons involved in the EPR, including individual citizens, health professionals and their deputies, must have an eID. This ensures that only authorised persons have access to the EPR.
These comprehensive security measures ensure that your health data are protected at all times.
How the EPR works
| Patient | Deputy* | Health professional | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appoint a deputy | ✅ | ||
| Grant access rights | ✅ | ✅ | |
| View documents | ✅ | ✅ | Only with access rights |
| Store documents in the EPR | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Access in case of emergency | ✅ | ||
| Close EPR | ✅ |
* You can give someone you trust access to your EPR. This person can help you manage your EPR or – if you do not wish to manage your EPR yourself – take over this task entirely on your behalf.
Get started with your EPR now
It's as simple as that:
1
Set up
Set up your EPR online – irrespective of when and where.
2
Upload documents
Upload your documents and manage your health data centrally.
3
Share
Share any relevant data securely with your selected healthcare professionals.
Any questions?
The EPR lets you manage all relevant documents about your health and makes them available to your health professionals in accordance with your needs. This makes it easier to exchange information among the various contacts, improves medical treatment and boosts efficiency. Set up your EPR and authorise your health professionals still today.
The Federal Act on the Electronic Patient Record (EPRA) has strict requirements for data protection and data security. The EPR from Post Sanela Health Ltd meets all these requirements. All data is stored in Switzerland. The EPR also precisely tracks who accesses which documents.
Anyone who is a resident of Switzerland can set up an EPR. Despite the “patient record” name, you don’t have to be ill to set up an EPR. A healthy person can also have an EPR. The EPR is voluntary and can be closed at any time.
The EPR is mandatory for the following institutions offering inpatient treatment: acute-care hospitals, rehab clinics, psychiatric clinics, nursing homes and birthing centres, as well as medical practices newly licensed as of 2022.
Persons and organisations not involved in your treatment do not have access to the EPR. Employers, health insurers, supplementary insurers and life insurers are therefore excluded. Even medical examiners of health insurers have no access to your EPR documents.