Dec. 03--Switzerland is known for its mountains, banks and trains -- but students from Union Graduate College are there to study the health system.
"The Swiss health care system is perceived as very effective and at the same time it provides high-quality care," said Peter Otto, a professor of management at Union.
Otto, who is Swiss, is leading 10 students on a tour of his homeland as part of their class. The students, who are pursuing MBAs in health management, are writing about their experience and observations on The Pulse, a Times Union health care blog. Their posts and photos will appear daily this week.
"Not everything is perfect here in Switzerland," Otto said. "But there are a lot of lessons learned that the United States could apply, particularly when it comes to cost control and interventions."
Switzerland has a universal health care system that is a patchwork of publicly and privately funded care. Citizens are required to have insurance, but the government pays for those who cannot afford to pay the premiums. The average family pays $500 to $700 a month for health care premiums, Otto said.
The students arrived in Zurich on Sunday and will visit several health facilities and health care companies including Roche Diagnostics, Galexis Ltd., Medtronic and University Hospital Balgrist. On Monday, they toured the Rega Emergency Center at Zurich Airport, which is the nation's air ambulance company.
Ryan Mancari, an emergency medical technician with Mohawk Ambulance and a candidate for an MBA, blogged about the visit.
"Typically, in the United States an air ambulance crew consists of a flight nurse, a paramedic and a pilot," Mancari wrote. "However, in Switzerland a physician is present on every (air ambulance) that is in service. This means that Rega employs enough physicians to provide emergency medical and transportation services 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This practice stems from the idea that an early intervention by a doctor on scene will greatly increase the patient's chance for survival. I was astounded to hear this, because it is such a drastic departure from the standard of care you usually see in upstate New York."
Mancari's next question: How can you afford that?
"It turns out that they have one of the most unique business models I have ever encountered," he said. "Rega is able to raise the equivalent of $82 million a year from donors who choose to support the company. The amazing thing is that they are not asking for thousands of dollars. Instead, they only ask for the equivalent of $30 per person. The sense of security they provide acts as enough motivation to convince 2.2 million people to donate each year."
Reach Cathleen F. Crowley at 454-5348 or ccrowley@timesunion.com. Visit her blog at http://blogs.timesunion.com/healthcare
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To read the students' posts, visit http://blog.timesunion.com/healthcare/
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