Key facts
Medical imaging is a key tool of modern medicine. At CHF 2.1 billion in 2023, imaging accounted for one sixth of the volume of outpatient benefits covered by compulsory health insurance (under the Health Insurance Act, or HIA), with costs rising by an average of more than 5% in recent years. This high level of consumption is related to Switzerland’s per-capita density of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices, which is the highest in Europe.
The use of medical imaging is hardly regulated by the HIA. The choice whether or not to use medical imaging is left to the discretion of doctors, who are guided by recommendations issued by international practitioners’ associations. However, like any other compulsory health insurance benefit, the use of medical imaging must comply with the principles of effectiveness, appropriateness and economic efficiency (EAE). Compliance with these principles must be monitored by health insurers using billing data.
The Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) analysed the use of the main imaging techniques for specific cases,
resulting in a mixed assessment of the current supervision system. This liberal environment leads, for example, to significant differences, whether between doctors for pregnancy ultrasounds or between cantons for CT and MRI scans.