The family doctor against rising costs

Last year, a new increase in bonuses provoked reactions from all parties, each denouncing those responsible. The PS attacked pharma, the Center attacked hospitals, the UDC attacked state control and immigration. The PLR ​​wanted to introduce “budget” health insurance. There was talk on the part of Zurich of a pure and simple abolition of the insurance obligation. French-speaking deputies in the chambers called for the creation of a “French-speaking health region”.

The omnipresent president of the Swiss Trade Union has just announced that he wants to launch an initiative for a single fund, probably cantonal. It is doubtful whether the USS is here in its role.

Finally, after the two initiatives rejected in June, we will vote on November 24 on the Federal Council’s project for uniform financing of care (EFAS).

In practice, a multitude of proposals for localized measures sit alongside calls to revolutionize the system. The reality is that no one has a miracle solution, as the dynamics of rising prices seem relentless. The aging of the population will increasingly weigh on health costs. At the same time, the natural pugnacity of human beings in the face of death and suffering drives advances in medicine: more technical, more effective, but more costly. One wonders if this financial fight can really be won.

The proposal for a “revaluation of the role of the family doctor” comes up regularly. We fundamentally believe in it. The general practitioner knows his patient and has his trust. He places him in his family constellation, anticipates difficulties and can redirect choices. He is said to practice “primary care medicine”. It is often also a last resort. When his patient despairs of being taken care of, he turns to his GP. Before and after a death, the general practitioner often accompanies the whole family. Its social and preventive role is of the first rank.

Revaluation

The necessary revaluation of the family doctor must not, however, become one of those mantras that Swiss politics loves – such as the “revalorization of apprenticeship” – and turn into an affirmation shared by all, but applied by no one. This revaluation must, first of all, be financial. Even if this means a reduction in the income of specialists. It must be moral and symbolic: the social role here takes precedence over cutting-edge technical skills. Let this message be hammered home from the first year of medicine.

The family doctor is emblematic of local medicine, embodied in our daily lives. He stands at the forefront of prevention. A welcome reform would be for each Vaudois to benefit, excluding the franchise, from an annual consultation with a general practitioner. Why not at the initiative of the municipalities. The long-term savings will be substantial.

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