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Facts and Figures
Scale of the Problem
1. 7 Mio
Older population
Switzerland has 1.7 million people aged 65+. By 2050, this number will reach 2.7 million — roughly one in four citizens.
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Challenge
The healthcare system must manage a rapidly growing older population with increasing medication complexity.
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76,6 %
Multimorbidity
Around 76.6 % of people aged 65+ live with multimorbidity (two or more chronic diseases).
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Challenge​
Multiple chronic diseases lead to complex therapies and make medication management more difficult.
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45-64%
Polypharmacy
About 45–64% of people aged 65+ take five or more medications simultaneously (polypharmacy).
Challenge​​
High medication complexity increases the risk of drug interactions, medication errors, and care coordination problems.
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Risks
32'000
Hospital admissions due to side effects
In Switzerland, adverse drug reactions lead to approximately 32,000 hospital admissions each year.
Source
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Challenge
Adverse drug reactions and medication-related issues lead to hospitalisations and place a significant burden on patients and the healthcare system.
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55%
Medication intake errors
Around 55% of older patients do not take their medication as prescribed.
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Challenge​
Correct medication intake often fails in daily life due to practical handling difficulties (e.g. dosing drops, removing tablets from packaging) and the complexity of taking multiple medications simultaneously. This leads to increased health risks and avoidable complications.
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63.5%
Inappropriate medication in older adults
63.5% of older patients are prescribed at least one potentially inappropriate medication.
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​Challenge​​
Many older patients are prescribed medications that may be inappropriate due to age-related risks, drug interactions, or contraindications.
Systemic causes
67 %
Communication breaks down between hospital and general practitioner
67% of hospital physicians report informing general practitioners, but only 7% confirm that this information is reliably received.
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Challenge
Information is lost at the interface.
60%
Medication errors occur precisely at transitions
An estimated 60% of medication errors occur during transitions between care settings, e.g. hospital, general practitioner and further care.
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Challenge
Especially during transitions, information is lost or inconsistent.
68%
Package leaflets are not fully understood
68% of respondents stated that they do not fully understand the package leaflet.
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Challenge
Information exists – but is not usable in everyday life.
Future pressure
“The number of people aged 65 and over will increase by around 60% by 2055.”
+67 %
Information does not reliably reach the general practitioner
67% of hospital physicians report informing general practitioners after a hospital stay, but only 7% of general practitioners confirm that they reliably receive this information.
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Future question
If already today only a fraction of information reliably reaches the general practitioner – how can it be ensured that this information gap does not continue to grow with a strongly increasing number of older people?
+60%
Medication errors arise during transitions of care
Around 60% of medication errors occur during transitions between care settings, such as hospital, general practitioner and nursing care.
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Future question​
If already today a large share of medication errors arises during care transitions – how can it be ensured that medication information is consistently available to all involved at all times, even as the number of treatment cases increases?
+68 %
Medical information is not understood
68% of people do not fully understand package leaflets and struggle to apply the information correctly.
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Future question
If already today many people do not fully understand medical information – how can it be made available in a way that is understandable at the right moment, even as the number of affected individuals increases?