Obsan report confirms continued shift to outpatient care in Switzerland

On February 18, 2025, the Swiss Health Observatory (Obsan) published its 2023 monitoring report on the "Outpatient-before-inpatient" policy commissioned by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).

Since 2019, Switzerland has prioritized outpatient procedures over inpatient ones to reduce costs and improve efficiency. The 2023 report confirms the ongoing shift, with the number of procedures required to be performed on an outpatient basis for reimbursement by compulsory health insurance expanding from six in 2019 to 18 in 2023. The average cost per procedure in the outpatient sector is two to eight times lower than in the inpatient sector.

Nevertheless, the Obsan observed that despite the shift, costs have increased due to a higher volume of treatments.

The FOPH expects that key healthcare reforms progressed in 2024, including the unified financing reform and a new outpatient tariff system, will further strengthen outpatient service provision in the coming years.

See the details in German here and here.

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