Swiss Review 2/2019

Swiss Review / March 2019 / No.2 6 Focus Gabriela Rohrer applies a cast to a patient in her GP practice. There is now a shortage of family doctors like her in Switzerland. Photo: Danielle Liniger SUSANNE WENGER Many people are still familiarwith the concept of the traditional family doc- tor. For a long time, GPs in Switzerland were as much a part of the fabric of lo- cal life as members of the clergy. They were more commonly male than fe- male, and their practices were almost always open. You could contact them at night, at weekends and at Christ- mas. Theywould visit you at home and care for your entire family, young and old. Theirwiveswouldhold the fort for them, managing the children and the household. Later one of their sons would inherit the practice, where pos- sible. Yet this is increasingly becom- ing a thing of the past. Family doctors whowish to retire due to age now have a hard time find- ing someone to take over their prac- tice – particularly in rural areas or pe- ripheral regions. Many of them delay their retirement and carry on until they are 70. This situation may get evenworse. Some 19,000doctorswork in the outpatient sector, 40 per cent of whom are general practitioners. The average age of GPs in Switzerland is 55. Many are about to retire. Meanwhile, demand formedical care is likely to in- crease amid an ageing population and a rise in chronic illnesses (see addi- tional text). A study by the University of Basel warns that Switzerland al- ready has a shortfall of 2,000GPs. This figure could double in the future. The backbone of primary care Family doctors in Switzerland are im- portant because, as general practition- ers, they form the backbone of pri- mary care. At 4.3 per thousand inhabitants, Switzerland actually has a high density of doctors compared to other countries (hospital physicians included). However, the spread of doc- Desperately seeking GPs There is a lack of general practitioners in Switzerland, particularly in rural areas. Initial steps to rectify this situation are proving effective, but the profile of GPs is changing.