Trends in European health care - Roland Berger

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Study
Since the products and their cost are similar among all companies, they try
to make a mark for themselves by providing unique services. For instance,
they lay focus on prevention and create awareness of the possibility of
diseases, e.g. obesity. In chapter 6, we will discuss this issue in more
depth, for example by describing how the Dutch insurance company
Achmea stands out by offering teleservices to chronic patients.
Switzerland
Personalizing health care
In terms of voluntary medical check-ups and personalized medicine,
Switzerland is trying to catch up: Private institutions, such as the Hirslanden
group, offer employee check-ups to individuals and corporations,
which are typically paid for out of the patient’s own pocket. The start-up
Avalis offers technology which enables chronically ill patients and their care
providers to manage the disease more independently. The company wants
to become the leading supplier in this field, their first significant client is
the German insurance company DKV.
Reforming the compensation system
In a first national step towards P4P, a lump-sum compensation system will
be implemented in Swiss hospitals as of 2009. Patients will be classified into
Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG), which defines the amount of compensation
the health care providers are entitled to. This performance-based
tariff structure for stationary hospital stays is expected to start in 2010.
Keeping it public
At this moment in time, 40% of all Swiss hospitals are in private hands,
and they account for a market share of approximately 15%. As opposed to
other countries, this situation is not expected to change within the near
future, due to the stagnation of elective private insurance holders. Moreover,
the cantons continue to maintain a large part of the publicly owned
health care institutions. They are supported by the bulk of the Swiss
population which has forced out a number of overly aggressive capacity
pruning and privatization attempts.