Switching Your GP

When should you consider switching?

There are many legitimate reasons to change GP: moving to a different part of the city or canton, finding the practice's hours inconvenient, a language barrier, a loss of trust in the clinical relationship, or simply wanting a fresh start after a difficult experience. You do not need to justify changing your GP — it is your right as a patient.

Common triggers for switching include:

• Relocating within or across cantons
• Changing insurance model or insurer, which may require a different designated GP
• The practice closing, the GP retiring, or taking on a new partner
• Feeling that your health concerns are not being taken seriously
• Repeated difficulty getting appointments

How to switch — Standard and Hausarzt models

If you are on the Standard model, changing GP requires no administrative steps with your insurer. Simply register with the new practice (see the sign-up guide) and stop attending the old one. There is no formal deregistration process — the GP-patient relationship ends when you stop consulting them.

If you are on the Hausarzt model, you will need to update your designated GP with your insurer. Contact your insurer and provide the name and practice address of your new GP. Some insurers allow this online or via app; others require a form or a phone call. The change takes effect from the date the insurer processes it. From that point, visits to the old GP will no longer qualify as your "first point of contact" and specialist referrals from the old GP will not be recognised under your model.

Switching within HMO and Network models

HMO and Network models restrict you to a specific list of practices and specialists. If you want to change GP, your new GP must also be within the network. Check your insurer's network list before approaching a new practice — not all GPs who are physically close to you will be in the network.

If you want to change to a GP outside the network, you will need to change your insurance model (only possible at the end of the insurance year, with a notice period — see the Insurance Models article). Plan ahead if you want to align a model change with a GP switch.

Requesting your medical records

You have the legal right to your own medical records (Patientendaten) under Swiss data protection law (DSG). When leaving a practice, you can request:

• A copy of your complete patient file (Patientendossier)
• Laboratory results, imaging reports, and specialist correspondence
• A summary letter (Arztbericht) for your new GP

The practice may charge an administrative fee for copying records — typically CHF 20–60 depending on volume. This fee is not covered by insurance. Records must be provided within a reasonable timeframe (typically 30 days).

When you join your new practice, bring these records to the first appointment. This continuity of information saves time and reduces unnecessary repeat tests or investigations.

Telling your old GP

There is no legal requirement to inform your old GP that you are leaving their practice. However, requesting your records serves as an implicit notification, and many people choose to send a brief letter or note. This is courteous but not obligatory.

Your old GP cannot refuse to provide your records as a response to you leaving — this would violate your data rights. If a practice is uncooperative, contact the cantonal health authority or the FMH (Swiss Medical Association) for guidance.

Timing considerations

If you are mid-way through a treatment course (e.g. a referral is pending, a specialist has been booked, test results are awaited), try to time your GP switch to minimise disruption. Your old GP should still send any pending results or correspondence to you, and your new GP can take over the case from there.

For ongoing prescriptions (Dauerrezepte), ensure you have enough supply to last through the transition period. Your new GP may want to review your medications before issuing repeat prescriptions, which may take one or two appointments.