What is the difference between the EPR in the app and the browser version?
The biggest difference is the mobile access. The EPR itself − i.e. the information that has been saved − is the same, regardless of how it is accessed. The EPR in the app also meets the same security requirements as the desktop version, as set out in the Federal Act on the Electronic Patient Record. When it comes to the functionality, there is still one difference: the proxy function − i.e. linking a parent, deputy or guardian to a (partially) legally capable person in the EPR − is not yet available in the app. We will continue expanding the app’s functionality and are also planning to launch the proxy function.
How do you ensure that the app is also easy for less tech-savvy people to use?
We’ve tested the app with different demographic groups and received wide-ranging feedback, which has been incorporated directly into our development. We are also continuing these tests after the launch. Our goal is the make the app so easy and self-explanatory that no previous knowledge is necessary. To achieve this, we will improve the app on an ongoing basis.
What is your favourite function in the app?
One of the app’s most useful functions has got to be the ability to up- and download documents to and from the EPR. As part of the mobile app, we’ve also introduced a scan function, which enables users to quickly and easily upload documents not yet saved in the EPR. These documents are saved in a specially secured area that prevents unauthorized access by other apps on the smartphone. This means that users’ privacy is guaranteed at all times, and they have secure access to their health information while on the go. For instance, if they upload their vaccination record via the scan function after being vaccinated, they can view their current record at any time in the app.
Is there anything still missing?
In future, users will be able to select health professionals directly in the app and grant them access to their data. This will create a direct digital dialogue between private individuals and health professionals, simplifying communication.
Other planned functions include ePrescription, eMedicationPlan and issues relating to mother-child healthcare, which are currently being evaluated. Our long-term goal for the app is to provide people with practical access to all the important health information they need to use in their everyday lives.
So far, we’ve mostly talked about private use of the EPR App. What measures are you taking to ensure the EPR also becomes a routine part of everyday work for medical professionals?
The EPR can only reach its full potential if it is used by members of the public and professionals. To help with this, we will improve the EPR’s interoperability with clinic, practice and care information systems, integrating the EPR into systems used at in- and outpatient healthcare facilities. The migration to Swiss Post’s new EPR platform will also allow us to make and roll out improvements and updates to the Sanela EPR more quickly in future. And as mentioned earlier, the app offers enormous potential for health professionals: for example, issuing electronic receipts, medication plans and vaccination records. By enabling information to be exchanged in digital form, we can increase efficiency significantly for both sides − for private and professional EPR users, and for the Swiss healthcare system as a whole.
Open my EPR now
