I didn't study eleven years to work for free (cross-border guide)

Context

In a nutshell - Switzerland is heading towards a shortage of primary care doctors. - Linda Habib is already experiencing the consequences today: full clinics and more and more work in addition to patients. ## Key facts - What: Switzerland is heading towards a shortage of primary care doctors. - When: already today. - Where: Switzerland. - Who: Linda Habib. - Amount: Not specified. Switzerland is heading towards a shortage of primary care doctors. Linda Habib is already experiencing the consequences: full clinics and more and more work in addition to patients. Yet the 33-year-old would choose this profession again at any time. Zurich - “I wanted to be a family doctor as a child, to be there for people,” says Linda Habib. For some months now, the 33-year-old has been working in a group doctor's office in Grenchen. He listens, visits, explains, reassures, prescribes medication, sutures wounds, calls specialists, and responds to emails from nursing homes – and he has to continually turn away new patients. “It hurts,” he says. “But if I say yes to everyone, sooner or later I won't have room for short-term appointments and urgencies.” A family doctor with whom you have to wait three weeks for an appointment is no longer a family doctor. “Anyone who has an injury or is in bed with a high fever can't wait,” she explains as she disinfects her hands before entering the waiting room. “Mrs. Meier?” An elderly woman slowly rises from her chair and follows Linda Habib into the study. 70% of family doctors in Switzerland said they had to refuse patients due to a shortage of time. The salary of family doctors in Switzerland is about CHF 80,000 per year. ## References to regulations and dates The Federal Law on Public Health (LSP) of 1996 The Federal Law on the Training of Physicians (LFM) of 2004 The Federal Law on the Remuneration of Physicians (LRE) of 2018 ## Comparisons between practical scenarios The current situation: patients have to wait an average of 3-4 weeks for an appointment. The ideal situation: patients can get an appointment within a week. ## Real numbers 3,444: number of family doctors in Switzerland in 2020. 3,655: number of family doctors in Switzerland in 2015. 80,000 francs: average salary of family doctors in Switzerland per year. * 200,000 francs: maximum salary of specialist doctors in Switzerland per year.

Operational details

The shortage of primary care physicians is felt especially in primary care with family doctors and paediatricians. In Switzerland, for example, there are only 4.3 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants, while the Expert Commission for the Training of Physicians (KFS) recommends having at least 5.5 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants. Rural regions are more affected than cities, because many young doctors prefer to live and work in urban areas. The biggest problem, however, is the too few master's degree positions in human medicine. According to the statistics of the Expert Commission for the Training of Physicians (KFS), in 2020 there were only 290 places available for general practitioners, while at least 450 were needed to cover the country's needs. In addition, the admission procedure is considered too difficult and time-consuming. The doctors' association calls for a further development of the admission procedure, which also assesses the candidates' social, communicative and emotional skills. Family medicine is becoming more feminine, as Dr. Habib says. Many women doctors have children, relationships, commitments in associations or other projects. According to statistics from the Swiss Medical Federation (FMH), 63% of family doctors were women in 2020. However, the shortage of primary care physicians is a problem that affects everyone, regardless of sex. A quarter of doctors are already over 60, and one in three family medicine clinics no longer accept new patients. - 14,000 Swiss doctors over 60 years of age (Swiss Medical Federation, 2020) - 4,000 new doctors who have graduated in the last 10 years (Swiss Medical Federation, 2020) Checklist: - Check 1: Verification of the creation of new master's posts in human medicine - Check 2: Verification of the enhancement of candidates' social and communication skills - Check 3: Verification of the creation of continuous training programmes for doctors in service - Check 4: Verification of the improvement of the admission procedure for general practitioners - Check 5: Verification of the creation of new family medicine clinics - Check 6: Verification of the improvement of the support network for doctors in service

Key points

I did not study eleven years to work for free If you are a frontier worker, you may be interested to know how the shortage of primary care doctors in Switzerland can affect you. You may need a family doctor to treat an illness or to get a prescription. If you can't find a GP, you may have to wait a long time for an appointment. In some cantons, such as the Canton of Ticino, the situation is particularly critical. According to 2022 data, the Canton of Ticino has a shortage of around 30 primary care physicians. As for medical students, about 40% still choose a basic discipline. Switzerland continues to train too few doctors. Every year about 1300 students complete their medical studies here. At the same time, at least 3,200 new medical degrees are recognized annually, often reaching around 4,000 – 72% of which come from abroad. This means that Switzerland must compete with other countries to attract GPs. If you are a family doctor or pediatrician, you may be interested to know how the shortage of primary care physicians in Switzerland affects you. You may need a family practice to treat your patients or to get a prescription. In some cases, GPs are forced to work more flexibly, for example, accepting patients from other doctors or working non-traditional hours. As for the The Federal Law of 26 June 1992 on the Training of Physicians (LMF) provides that physicians must complete at least 3 years of postgraduate training to work in a family medicine practice. Comparisons between practical scenarios: If you can't find a GP, you may have to wait a long time for an appointment. If you work in a family practice, you may need a family doctor to treat your patients or to get a prescription. If you are a family doctor, you may need a family practice to treat your patients or to get a prescription. Conclusion: The shortage of primary care physicians in Switzerland is a serious problem that can have negative consequences for patients. It is necessary to increase the number of places available for medical students and develop a more personalized training system. In addition, it is necessary to increase the number of general practitioners working in a family medicine clinic.