Hi all!

I've not yet been to a doctor here in Switzerland, but lately my need has been touch and go. I realise though that I've been reluctant, and the reason is that bad doctors are more than just a waste of money - they're bad for your health. Can anyone out there recommend a "good" general practitioner in Zurich (between Hongg and town preferably) who I can talk to in English?

Appreciate any advice available.

Cheers.

Sorry, don't live in your area so can't recommend anybody. Just wanted to say that a GP in CH is very different to one in the UK. First of all they do not have a do a 3 year GP training programme here. Secondly, their job is often quite limited, as most people chose to go straight to specialists. So some people go to a peadiatrician with their kids, even for minor ailments. Any routine smear tests for women are done by a gynea- and so on.

I don't think this is the case. The cheaper insurance options don't allow access to specialists without referal from your doctor. My family, and other families I know, who aren't on HMO, have a Hausartz for their day to day health needs. You're always asked for the name of your Hausartz if you go to casualty (Emergency Room/Notfall), or see a specialist directly - assuming your insurance allows this.

Dr Angela Caddick (an English GP) comes highly recommended and she is part of a Family Medicine practice. Her details are: Stadelhoferstrasse 42 Zurich 8001, telephone 044 262 27 13. Her email is dr.angela.caddick@gmail.com and there is a website www.drangelacaddick.com

Regards

Canariesfan

Sorry no suggestion... but hope the website could be handy http://www.doctor.ch/doctor.html

Sometimes you will get some additional information such since when they have been practicing etc..

Pediatricians, gyns and opticians excepted.

Hi there,

We ourselves haven't been there yet, but we were recommended to this doctor by an English speaking colleague of my husband.

Dr. med. Jörg Wälti
Arzt für Allgemeine Medizin FMH
Bläsistrasse 23
8049 Zürich
Tel: 044 341 4464

He's located in Höngg itself and speaks English.

Cheers,
Kerstin

I think the reason you put your doc contact is not to check if you are entitled to see a specialist without a referral, that would be a question for your insurer (and they usually deal with that later, just charge you for it), but to actually be able to contact your GP in case there is need to outsource any further data in order to make a better diagnosis (or send him copies of the test results, etc.). Docs, esp. peds always know if you go on your own and check your kid with a specialist or say you get your child a shot in the clinic, we were requested to not go via ped at all, but via clinic, etc.

I think it is also nose,ear throat specialist, but I am not sure since our ins. covers specialists, I think? We never had to deal with any insurance telling us not to, in fact our GP, gyno and ped are happy enough if we are savvy and just go to a specialist ourselves, usually they would have refered us, too, anyways.

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My wife and I see Dr. Wälti, and we like him. He and his staff speak excellent English; we don't speak any German, and never have any trouble. Best of all, his wife with whom he shares a practice is a pediatrician, so we take our daughter to see her.

Sometimes. My GP did smear tests and took care of my kids very well.

I sympathise with the OP - finding a good GP can be very difficult. It's one of the many frustrations I have with the the system here (as I have experienced it. )

The problem with seeing a specialist is that only one thing is being looked at - not the body as a whole system. The specialist will test for the one thing that falls within his area - but if that's not the problem behind your symptoms the specialist cannot help you further and you are back to square one, looking for another doctor.

I really miss having a GP/Internist/family practitioner who could listen to your symptoms, do intital testing, come up with a diagnosis, treat most things - and send you to a specialist only when necessary.

ETA:

This is frightening... I'm used to the US system: all doctors go first to a 4 year undergrad university program, usually pre-med, then to medical school, then residency, then some may specialize... how is the Swiss system different?

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On a related note:

What is a Dr. med. prakt.? What kind of education would this entail? How is that different from a Dr. med.?

I don't know that I agree with this. I know nothing of the uk system, but here I see an internal medicine doc who is very much like the internists I saw in the us. I think their training is general internal medicine with a subspecialty just as most internists do in the US. Personally I've always seen internal medicine docs - my one here is quite comprehensive, IMHO.

What is interesting here is the gyne options. In the us surgeries are done by surgeons. Here gynecologists are trained to do surgeries as a specialty. It's fine either way from what I've experienced, you just have to find someone who has experience.

Can't compare to the US system Meloncollie, only to the UK one. In the UK, it is 6 years at Uni, then 1 year registration year as a Junior doctor- then specialisation. To become a General Practitioner (GP) or 'family doctor' you have to do a further 3 year GP training rotation (including supervised periods in a GP surgery (office) before you can 'practice' (stupid word!?. GPs then look after patients' health in general, from colds to minor surgery- and patients have to be referred to a specialist, you can't go 'straight' there, even privately.

For instance I have an old school friend who was an orthopaedic surgeon most of his career, and suddenly decided aged 59 to become a GP - which would have been totally impossible in the UK (as his area of expertise is very specialised [limited].

Sounds like the education here is more general first and then specialization occurs, during a residency, like the US. Not sure how the undergrad to med school transition works tho. Maybe I am wrong...also not sure if there is a difference between GP, family medicine and internal medicine.

Almost all of my docs here have done fellowships or research in the US.

Basically, in the UK GPs'/family doctors have to specialise and do specific training (3 years on top) - whereas in Switzerland anybody who has finished his basic medical studies can become a GP without specific training. Or any specialist in other medical fields can, at any time, decide to switch to General Practice. As everywhere there are excellent, bad and indifferent GPs everywhere - so recommendations are useful. But the training is defo different. Internal medicine in the US is 'General medicine' in the UK, hospital based specialist (eg NOT surgeons).