Leveraging the OECD PaRIS survey results for Switzerland. Developing recommendations to improve the patient-centeredness of primary care and identifying policy priorities

PaRIS (Patient-Reported Indicators Surveys) is an initiative of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) aimed at improving healthcare systems by focusing on patient-reported outcomes (PROMs) and patient-reported experiences (PREMs). The PaRIS international survey of people living with chronic diseases aims to fill a gap in outcomes and experiences in primary care, by asking patients living with chronic diseases about aspects such as access to care and waiting times, as well as quality of life, pain, physical functioning and psychological well-being.

The first main survey was conducted in 2023 and 2024 in 19 countries. In Switzerland, 139 primary care practices completed the “primary care practice” questionnaire and 4,178 patients completed the “patient” questionnaire.

Several results have been published on the survey, the following of which are the responsibility of the OECD Secretariat:

• The PaRIS flagship report, published on February 20, 2025: it includes macro-level analyses, including a comparison of the 10 key PaRIS indicators, the impact of multiple chronic conditions (multimorbidity) on health and quality of life, the impact of the level of care integration and digital technology on care experiences, and an exploration of gender and socio-economic inequalities (Does Healthcare Deliver? | OECD)
   
• The “Country Note” for Switzerland, with the main results for Switzerland (Does Healthcare Deliver? Results from the Patient-Reported Indicator Surveys (PaRIS): Switzerland | OECD)

The Swiss PaRIS team has also produced its own reports for participating practices: one report for each participating primary care practice, sent in July 2024, and a two-page patient report, sent by e-mail in September 2024.

National reports are the responsibility of participating countries, to be published with or after the flagship report. The OECD advises that these national reports provide country-specific data, findings and perspectives, delving into specific topics concerning the quality of primary care in a particular country and addressing priorities that may not be as pressing in other countries, such as rural health or geographical inequalities. Indeed, one of the aims of PaRIS is to foster dialogue with policy-makers, healthcare providers and patients on how to improve the performance and people-centered orientation of primary care services, and to harness PaRIS data for policy impact.

Objective

The aim of this project is to exploit the Swiss PaRIS results to develop national recommendations for improving primary care and to identify policy priorities, in collaboration with key stakeholders, including policy-makers, healthcare providers and patients in a stakeholder dialogue.