The diagnosis is correct, the treatment is on the right track, and the relationship of trust with the patient remains intact. And yet the latest Swiss eHealth Barometer 2026 from gfs.bern reveals a figure that gives pause for thought: Only 50 per cent of the Swiss resident population have complete confidence that their treating doctors effectively comply with data protection regulations.
This is a record high compared with other players in the healthcare sector. Doctors enjoy the highest level of trust among all groups surveyed, well ahead of pharmacies, insurers and, even more so, private companies. And yet: only one in two people in the country is absolutely certain – without any ifs or buts – that their personal health data is protected by their own doctor.
Where mistrust becomes tangible
This is not an abstract feeling. It manifests itself wherever data leaves the doctor’s surgery or is stored digitally. When it comes to the electronic patient record (EPR) – the central repository for test results, medication plans and reports that hospitals have been required to provide since 2020 – 52 per cent of the population state that they either have data protection concerns or believe that healthcare professionals can exchange the necessary information anyway, even without the EPR. The situation is similar among doctors themselves: 45 per cent fear that the EPD could lead to confidential information falling into the wrong hands.
So the concern exists on both sides of the consultation table. Patients wonder what happens to their data. And doctors – who are, after all, supposed to allay these concerns themselves – are often just as uncertain when assessing new digital tools.
This is precisely where it will be decided whether AI takes hold in everyday practice
The public survey reveals where the greatest potential of digital solutions is seen: in the automation of routine tasks. 53 per cent of the population are already familiar with such AI tools, and 52 per cent see this as having the greatest potential of all (very high and fairly high potential) – even ahead of diagnostic support or research. Among healthcare professionals, the picture is even clearer: three-quarters are familiar with AI applications for automating routine tasks, and 84 per cent can envisage using such a solution in their own daily work within the next five years.
Documentation is one of the biggest routine tasks in everyday medical practice – and this is precisely where AI-supported software, such as speech recognition or ambient documentation, comes into play. However, the willingness to actually use such a solution depends directly on whether there is trust in how the data is handled. Anyone who is unsure whether their own documentation software complies with data protection regulations will not use it – regardless of how well it works technically.
Trust cannot be claimed, only demonstrated
For Voicepoint, this is not a new issue, but a fundamental requirement that we work with every day. Voicepoint Xenon®, our platform for all medical documentation use cases, processes your dictations exclusively on Swiss servers in our own Voicepoint Cloud – the data never leaves Switzerland. Furthermore, the platform is certified to ISO 27001 (information security), ISO 27701 (data protection) and ISO 27018 (protection of personal data in the cloud).
What’s more, our speech recognition cloud has been officially approved by the cantonal data protection authorities – further, independent proof that our solution complies with Swiss data protection requirements.
For you as a practising doctor, this means you don’t have to work to build your patients’ trust when it comes to the question of where and how their data ends up. You can demonstrate this – with a solution that not only communicates this commitment but also complies with it in a manner that is technically, organisationally and regulatory sound.
After all, ultimately it is not just about speeding up documentation. It is about ensuring that it is carried out in such a way that nobody – neither the medical profession nor the patient – needs to worry about where their data ends up.
Sources
- Swiss eHealth Barometer 2026 – Bevölkerung, gfs.bern AG, im Auftrag des Bundesamts für Gesundheit (BAG), eHealth Suisse und FMH. cockpit.gfsbern.ch/de/cockpit/sehb-bevoelkerung-2026
- Swiss eHealth Barometer 2026 – Gesundheitsfachpersonen, gfs.bern AG, im Auftrag des Bundesamts für Gesundheit (BAG), eHealth Suisse und FMH. cockpit.gfsbern.ch/de/cockpit/sehb-gesundheitsfachpersonen-2026