In an episode of the programme series ‘Next in Business’ on Sat.1 Switzerland, heyPatient's digital service for communication between patients and medical facilities was showcased. It is designed to streamline administrative processes, avoid paper and save money in the healthcare sector.
In the episode of the Sat.1 business magazine ‘NextIn Business’ on 30 October 2024, presenter Lynn Grütter showcased the Winterthur-based start-up heyPatient. The programme dealt with the status of digitalisation in the healthcare sector in Switzerland, its benefits and its potential for cost savings.
heyPatient’s contribution to digitalisation is a patient platform that gives patients access to all their medical documents and appointments. The health appointments of the whole family can also be managed via the app.
Baden Cantonal Hospital, for example, was one of the first hospitals to introduce the heyPatient app in 2020. Thanks to paperless, electronic registration, users have direct access when entering hospital, for example. And in an emergency, the patient data is already available in the system.
‘On the one hand, you have state-of-the-art medical technology such as CTs and so forth,’ says CEO and co-founder of heyPatient Matthias Spühler in the TV programme. And on the other hand, there is still paper everywhere, media disruptions and data that is not exchanged. ‘It’s like having two worlds.’ It was precisely this problem that the four founders wanted to solve when they founded heyPatient in 2019 and launched the app in 2020.
Above all, communication with heyPatient is digital. ‘And that alone, if everyone in Switzerland, all hospitals, simply used it, we would save over 700 million Swiss francs a year. That alone!’ says Spühler. ‘And that’s just one of many elements that heyPatient can help with.’
Last but not least, Spühler talks about his company’s ambitions: ‘What we have achieved so far is primarily here in Switzerland. And now the next big goal is to go global.’ ce/mm
