The Healthcare Professions Division works at the interface between healthcare and education policy. It develops tertiary healthcare professions further, and manages a number of registers and committees as well as the secretariats of a range of non-parliamentary commissions.
The areas of responsibility of this division include initial and continuing training and professional development and exercise of the profession by healthcare professionals, as well as recognition of foreign qualifications. It also handles the issues of basic healthcare and interprofessionality. In addition, it organises the state examinations for medical professions.
The legal basis for this is the Medical Professions Act (MedPA), the Psychology Professions Act (PsyPA) and the Healthcare Occupations Act (HOA) (all links in German). Art. 117a of the Federal Constitution formally accords basic healthcare key importance in healthcare. The division was responsible for the “Family doctor and basic medical care” masterplan (in German), which implements the main demands of the popular initiative “Yes to family medicine!”.
In addition, it is responsible for the implementation of the Nursing initiative (Art. 117c Federal Constitution), which was approved by the Swiss electorate on 28 November 2021.
In addition to managing the Register of Psychology Professionals (PsyReg) the Healthcare Professions Division also manages the Forum for Basic Medical Care, the platform for the future of medical training and the working group on coordination of further medical training (all links in German). The healthcare professionals platform was added to its responsibilities in April 2021.
Last modification 21.02.2023
Contact
Federal Office of Public Health FOPH
Prevention and Healthcare Provision Directorate
Healthcare Professions Division
Schwarzenburgstrasse 157
3003
Bern
Switzerland
Tel.
+41 58 462 74 17