Hiya
I am moving to Zurich next month and I was wondering if anybody could give me some advice on if it would be better to go for GP or HMO?
Also, is it possible to change doctors if you're not happy with the one you get?
I'd be grateful for any advice.
Thanks
Carmen

I changed my daughter's doctor and my Ob/Gyn without any problem.

Get a doctor you are comfortable with, it makes the health system experience much nicer.

My Sana Care HMO in Bern employs 10 doctors, so I have quite a choice!
I am registered at the practice as an HMO patient, I don't always have to see the same doctor.

They are also in Zurich at 4 addresses, & I can really recommend the company,

http://www.sanacare.ch/htm/praxen.ht...&navid=1&pid=3

With Visana you can change to HMO immediately. Check www.comparis.ch for the saving!

,

I went from HMO to standard. Mainly because I didn't get on with the HMO doctors. I'm glad I did, as with standard, I can go straight to specialist. Didn't cost much moe either.

I would go with the standard version, also. You need to have a good family doctor at any rate, but don't get stuck within a particular network or have a gatekeeper. That's my preference anyway.

If you want to save money, the telemed option saves quite a bit, and so far has been fairly innocuous for us. Basically you call into a call center if you've got a new problem (like the flu or something) and a doctor calls you back within an hour. Usually they tell you to go see your doctor. If you say you want to go to the doctor, they usually don't have an issue with that either - I don't know if that will change in the future as they try to clamp down on costs....

All my specialists have been referrals from either our family doctor or my gyn, but we've had great choices and the docs have been excellent.

I have been told that Telmed is not at all good, as you cannot influence which doctor you are going to see. Every visit you would also have to explain your medical history to a fresh doctor - madness!
(Edited to state a physiotherapist in Lausanne told me this is how Telmed works)

The HMO system also does not rule out your choice of children's doctor, ladies doctor, or eye doctor. (Paed, Gyna, Opth )

The HMO is very similar to the British GP practise. On top of my 10 doctors there are also nurses, secretaries etc - professionals.

Check out the website for your city:
there are 11 doctors to choose from in Zurich- Oerlikon

http://www.sanacare.ch/htm/praxen.ht...&navid=1&pid=3

I don't know who told you that but it is wrong. We have Telmed and we call them and tell them that we are making an appointment and with which doctor. They make a note and that is it. We choose which doctors we go to see. So I don't understand the influencing bit. But maybe it depends which insurer you are with. Edot above says a doctor calls her back within an hour. With is there us no callback nothing, it is a one-way information.

Me: "My name is Snoopy, my insurance policy number is 123456. My pinkie hurts and I have made an appointment with Dr. Jekyll."
Them: "Ok, that's fine I have made a note. Gute Besserung"

The end

Hope it gets better soon Snoopy

We have Innova and that's simply not been our experience. I get to see whatever doctor I want to see.

The call center has a file with my medical history. I do not have to reiterate the history. If I have a dr's visit for a continuing condition, you just call to announce the appointment. I have to call for example and tell them that I'm going to see my regular doctor for bloodwork.

I also have to see my oncologist frequently - for my chemotherapy and oncology visits, I don't have to call at all - they've opened a "window" for the calendar year, and I don't have to report these visits at all.

If I had something unrelated to my existing conditions, then I'd have to call, but it really has been noninvasive. For example, my husband fell while sledding. It wasn't an emergency sort of situation - he came home, and decided that he should be checked out. He called the call center, they told him to go to the emergency room for an xray (since it was after normal office hours).


but I guess it depends on your insurer and so on, so it's probably worth asking how it works. I've had HMO and GP-gatekeeper models in the US and didn't like them, I was associated with a triage-call center in a hospital so I was more accustomed to that.

I went to Sanacare after changing to Avanix this year, the cheapest insurance I could find.

I went to see Dr Lowo, she is the best Dr I have ever seen, she organised 30 minute appointments no rush. She had the results of blood tests within 10 minutes, very impressed.

Her English is absolutely PERFECT, and happy to discuss all options at length.

http://www.sanacare.ch/htm/praxen.ht...pid=14&navid=3

I have a GP and it's worked out well so far. I like to have one person handling my case. It is cheaper than being able to see a specialist directly, and I trust that my GP would send me on if she thought it were necessary. In this model, I also have free choice of gynecologist or ophthalmologist.
My child's primary doctor is her pediatrician.

The reason I didn't opt for telmed is not because I think it would not be good or efficient, but because I'm naturally phone-averse (get nervous on the phone for any official business) and also wasn't sure if all the telmed staff spoke English. I do ok in German for simple things, but when it comes to medical conditions, I want to be certain everything is completely clear to both parties.

I also use Sanacare in Oerlikon and have been quite happy with their care.

Thanks everyone for all the advice.