Health2040

Switzerland’s primary healthcare in outpatient settings is expected to change considerably in the coming years due to socio-demographic change and the related increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, the growing cost pressure, increased demand for medical and nursing services and technological developments. The federal government has defined the responsiveness of the healthcare system to these developments as an important political aim.

However, little is known about the preferences of (potential) patients and health professionals with regard to newly emerging models of the organisation of outpatient primary healthcare. The project Health2040 aims at filling this knowledge gap by applying an innovative research approach including discrete choice experiments.

Health2040 is a collaborative research project between members of the Department of Health Sciences and Medicine of the University of Lucerne and Interface Lucerne. The project is part of the Swiss Learning Health System (SLHS).

The overall project Health2040 consists of two sub-projects: 

• Preferences of the Swiss general population 

• Preferences of health professionals 

An in-depth study on facilitators of and barriers to task shifting between health professionals has also recently been launched.

Combining the two sub-projects allows a holistic analytical view on the future outpatient primary healthcare. The project is supplemented with two master’s theses that address the role of wearable sensors in the future primary healthcare and the topic of ensuring primary healthcare provision in rural regions in Switzerland.