Digitization 

Step by step towards a digital healthcare system

In autumn 2025, the Federal Council announced its intention to develop the electronic patient record (EPR) into an electronic health record (EHR) by 2030. The aim is to lay the foundations for more extensive digital networking in the healthcare sector. Swiss Post is supporting this process and contributing its experience as the largest and longest-standing EPR provider. Until the EHR is introduced, the EPR will remain central to digitization in the healthcare sector.

A digitized healthcare system is part and parcel of a modern and connected Switzerland. Swiss Post is the largest EPR provider in the country. More than 112,000 patient records are managed via its platform, which it provides to EPR operators (known as reference communities).  Through its subsidiary Post Sanela Health AG, Swiss Post operates its own reference community, which is active in 22 cantons and all language regions. It has more than 65,000 open records and works with around 1,500 healthcare facilities. Swiss Post is continuing to develop the EPR in a targeted manner and will launch a new, more user-friendly platform to facilitate the integration of new services, such as prescriptions and medication dosages. It will also be easier for private users to navigate.

Automation reduces workload

Numerous hospitals, medical professionals and private individuals already use the EPR in their everyday lives. Healthcare facilities benefit from automated processes that simplify procedures and make day-to-day clinical practice much easier. Direct access to patient documents, such as examination results, saves a lot of time that was previously spent on the cumbersome process of obtaining information from various sources. Documents from the EPR can also be integrated with ease into clinics’ own systems.

New policy proposals

Digital transformation is the key to a more efficient healthcare system and better treatment. In November 2025, the Federal Council proposed a new regulatory framework set out in the Federal Act on the Electronic Health Record (EHR): in future, all persons resident in Switzerland will automatically receive an electronic patient record, and all healthcare facilities will be connected to it. The federal government is planning a central platform that will combine all relevant health information across all stages of life in one location. Swiss Post supports this project. The EHR will provide the basis for a unified and efficient system for managing digital health data. Digitization cannot gain momentum and achieve its full potential unless all parties involved are using the same solution.

As a university hospital, our patients are the heart of everything we do. This includes enabling them to access their digital health data easily and securely, as is possible via the EPR.

Peter JansClinic Information System Application Manager, Balgrist University Hospital

EPR indispensable during the transition phase

The Federal Council plans to introduce the EHR from 2030. During the transition phase, collaboration is crucial to ensure that digital progress does not stall. EPRs can still be opened and used to their full extent, with existing files being transferred to the EHR at a later date. Until the new system is available, the EPR will remain indispensable, safeguarding digital progress and protecting the investments made by healthcare facilities, cantons and system providers.

What benefits does the EPR offer in everyday life?