Pioneering cardiac surgery cooperation gets under way

The launch of this new type of collaboration in cardiac surgery between the Insel Group, which operates Switzerland’s largest university hospital, and Hirslanden, Switzerland’s largest private healthcare provider, represents an innovation in healthcare services. “The model stands for the constructive duality between competition and cooperation and at the same time, it’s an expression of the new opportunities that are emerging in the increasingly crowded healthcare market,” said Dr. Ole Wiesinger, CEO of the Hirslanden Private Hospital Group.

The partnership will generate many patient benefits, such as a shared commitment to medical quality among the hospitals and medical staff, as well as high case numbers that will consequently increase the level of experience of the joint medical teams. The agreement also ensures patients can access a heart surgery facility near their homes, while still enjoying the freedom to choose the hospital the best suits their personal requirements.

“Of course, the cooperation is also beneficial for both hospitals and their respective doctors. We can define shared treatment standards and gather joint case and quality data, so that we can continually develop and implement measures for improvement,” explained Dr. h. c. Uwe E. Jocham, Chairman of the Board of Insel Group. Training and professional development conducted across multiple locations will also make knowledge transfer easier in the future. Many other synergies will be made possible through the shared structures and closer collaboration, such as in the area of research.

As part of the cooperation, four of Inselspital heart surgeons will also work at Klinik Beau-Site from 1 July onwards, namely Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. Thierry Carrel, Prof. Dr. med. Lars Englberger, Dr. med. David Reineke and Dr. med. Eva Roost. The operative collaboration between the Inselspital and the Hirslanden Klinik Aarau that was established in 2014 will remain unchanged. Heart surgery medical staff will in future be deployed in a coordinated way at all three sites. The collaboration covers Inselspital, Hirslanden Klinik Aarau and Hirslanden Klinik Beau-Site's routine operation, emergency and on-call services. 

The specialist areas provided by the heart surgeons at Inselspital and Hirslanden Klinik Beau-Site will also remain unchanged.

Hirslanden Private Hospital Group

As of 31 March 2018, the Hirslanden Private Hospital Group comprises 17 hospitals in 11 cantons, many of which have an outpatient surgical centre and an Emergency department. The group also operates 4 outpatient clinics, 16 radiology institutes and 4 radiotherapy institutes. The group has around 1,680 affiliated doctors and 9,635 employees, of whom 461 are permanently employed doctors. Hirslanden is the leading private hospital group and the largest medical network in Switzerland. In the 2017/18 financial year, the group generated turnover of 1,735 million Swiss francs. Between 1.01.2018 and 31.03.2018 the group treated more than 102,903 patients, amounting to a total of 473,343 inpatient days. In insurance terms, the patient mix consists of 47.9% basic, 29.7% semi-private, and 22.4% private insured patients.

The Hirslanden Private Hospital Group is synonymous with first-class medical care delivered by highly qualified medical specialists with years of experience. As a system provider, Hirslanden stands out from the rest of the market: interdisciplinary medical centres of expertise and specialised institutes enable it to offer the best possible individualised treatment, even in highly complex cases. The Hirslanden Private Hospital Group was formed in 1990 through the merger of several Swiss private hospitals. Since 2007 it has been part of the international hospital group Mediclinic International plc, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Insel Gruppe AG

The six locations of the Insel Group form a leading nationwide healthcare system that provides the Swiss population with comprehensive medical care – from primary care through to state-of-the-art medicine. The Insel Group stands for world-class quality medical treatment and its hospitals treat around 500,000 patients from over 120 countries each year.
At the core of its range of services is a tiered healthcare model that ensures patients are admitted to the best hospital for their given situation and receive optimal treatment in the shortest time possible. As public hospitals, their facilities are available to all patients. The highly specialised Inselspital ensures round-the-clock access to the latest medical developments and methods in all specialist disciplines.
With over 10,000 employees, the Insel Group is one of the largest employers in the Bern region. The hospital network is also the most important professional development institution for young doctors and provides excellent training for a variety of occupations.