‘Searched a long time for an offer like this’
Dr Isabelle Fuss discusses the practical use of Compassana and the confidence of having robust data protection measures in place.
What advantages does Compassana Med provide from your point of view?
Secure communication with patients is a key issue for us, since we want to involve them more in treatments and provide them with more up-to-date information. Of course, it also helps us to know that our referral really arrived, for example. It is also much easier to send laboratory values with comments, for example.
How is this different from communicating using patients’ private email addresses?
As medical professionals, we use encrypted HIN systems, but patients do not. There are, of course, ways to send links that patients can use to download files. However, this is cumbersome and results in inquiries at the practice. Another advantage is that patients can archive the documents and have them ready to hand when they need to go to the hospital, for example. Issues arise primarily during emergencies, especially on weekends or outside regular hours when practices are not accessible. No or too little data – this significantly worsens the quality of treatment and can even be life-threatening in individual cases.
Speaking of data: What does the new Swiss data protection law mean for Compassana?
I am very happy that we have found a solution with Compassana that meets the highest standards and is therefore of course also compliant with the law. I have been looking for a service like this for a long time.
Is it complicated to use Compassana?
No. An example: I simply enter the patient’s Compassana email address into our system rather than their private email address. Sometimes you also save on phone calls because you can simply send lab results via app or confirm appointment requests if everything is clear.
And from a patient perspective?
Cross your heart: Who knows off the top of their head what medications he or she is allergic to or exactly when which treatment took place? When users store information like this in the app, it makes our job easier.
Could patients have the impression that the Compassana app is a messenger like WhatsApp – where responses come in a very short time?
I don't think so, because they know that health professionals have other patients and a lot of administrative work to do. In addition, the app clearly informs users that the ‘availability of the health contact varies’ and that they should call 144 in case of an emergency.
