In 2024 and early 2025, the Swiss Health Data Space (SHDS) Association developed and submitted a comprehensive funding request for key components essential to building the future Swiss Health Data Space—one of the core objectives defined in our statutes.
This submission included:
Our proposal was finally rejected.
In their official response, the EQK explained why they were unable to provide financial support. While we respect this decision, we have chosen full transparency and are publishing now sequentially the complete documentation: Proposal – Project budget – Letter of rejection. The SHDS board, along with our partners, invested substantial time, expertise, funding, and much enthusiasm into this work—and we still firmly believe it represents both a visionary and feasible plan.
The funding request outlined several basic and crucial elements necessary for a functional, affordable and future-ready SHDS, including:
- Automatic Digitization and Structuring of Unstructured Data:
Vaccination records, lab reports, insurance claims, patient summaries, and metadata aligned with EPR (Electronic Patient Record) standards. - A Quality-Assured Service Framework:
Defining the content, patient journey, processes and standards for reliable data services and engaging an academic institution to validate clinical quality of the result. - Governance Model Proposal:
A governance blueprint for long-term sustainability and oversight and presence in the german and french part of Switzerland - Financing Strategy:
A clear proposal outlining potential funding models for these services. - Hackathons and Innovation Initiatives:
Fostering community engagement and value-added digital solutions.
We are moving forward to realize parts of this proposal with the resources we currently have. However, certain crucial components remain unfunded, leaving significant gaps to move forward quickly to realize our vision of a Swiss Health Data Space with a democratic and trustworthy governance.
We are now inviting committed partners who share our vision and are willing to step in—whether through funding, strategic collaboration, or technical contributions. Your support could help ensure that Switzerland builds a health data space that is not only secure and efficient but also centered on medical quality and patient empowerment.
We from the board still believe, that our request is an important contribution towards a citizen-owned, data driven health care system that is affordable, useful and exciting!
Our approach will hopefully help other quality-oriented and patient-centered groups in Switzerland to learn from our defeat, to understand the reflections of the EQK (Eidgenössische Qualitätskommission) and to submit better proposals to this potent institution in the future.
