Posts Homepage

De-Identification – how to protect patient privacy effectively Protecting patient privacy requires careful measures to de-identify health data. To address this, SPHN has developed a legally compliant de-identification methodology and a practical template to facilitate its implementation. These resources fill a crucial gap in Swiss data de-identification guidance. 27 February 2025 The methodology to de-identify …

De-Identification – how to protect patient privacy effectively Read More »

New registry regulation template to set up purpose, structure and workflow This new template offers a comprehensive framework for establishing a health data registry. It covers key aspects such as purpose, governance, data access protocols, and quality management systems, ensuring alignment with ethical and legal principles. 3 February 2025 Together with several other partners, SPHN …

New registry regulation template Read More »

The Data for Health symposium marked how far Switzerland has come over the last eight years in terms of personalized health. The slides of the event are now available for download. Photos by Kuno Schläfli Presentations 1. Welcome and Opening – Prof. Urs Frey, Chair SPHN National Steering Board; Prof. Christian Wolfrum, Chair PHRT Strategic …

Presentations of the Data for Health event are now available Read More »

Prof. Matthias Baumgartner will take over as Chair of the Swiss Personalized Health Network (SPHN) in 2025, succeeding Urs Frey, who has led the network since 2019. Baumgartner will accompany SPHN and its Data Coordination Center (DCC) into the maintenance phase. Matthias Baumgartner is Full Professor of Metabolic Diseases at the University of Zurich, Director …

A new president for the Swiss Personalized Health Network Read More »

26 March 2024 The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into health research and care promises many advances for the future. At the technical level, the development of supporting algorithms however requires a large amount of meaningful, structured and interoperable data and, in practice, good regulation of AI applications. The interoperability efforts of SPHN provide a …

SPHN: Solid basis for AI in local medicine Read More »

14 March 2024 The Swiss Personalized Health Network (SPHN) initiative coordinates the development of infrastructures for the responsible use of health-related data in research throughout Switzerland. The sharing of health data however faces repeatedly hurdles and bottlenecks. A recently published study sheds light on legal and ethical challenges besides technical aspects.  Switzerland has numerous laws, …

Where are the bottlenecks to health data sharing in Switzerland? Read More »

SAVE THE DATE for the upcoming symposium entitled “Data for Health: Joining Forces for a Swiss Health Research Data Ecosystem”, jointly organized by SPHN and PHRT on 31 October 2024 at the Kursaal in Bern.  Over the past eight years, the collaborative efforts of the Swiss Personalized Health Network (SPHN) initiative and the Personalized Health …

SAVE THE DATE: “Data for Health” symposium Read More »

9 February 2024 Why do we need an initiative that puts efforts in the creation of infrastructures that enable the use of health data, particularly from routine care, for research purposes? In an interview of the podcast series “health terminal”, Dr. Thomas Geiger, Managing Director of the Swiss Personalised Health Network (SPHN) initiative, and Dr. …

SPHN in the spotlight of the «health terminal» podcast Read More »

14 December 2023 The SPHN International Advisory Board (IAB) has been involved in the evolution of the initiative since the very beginning. With the exception of the time during the Covid pandemic, the IAB has reviewed the progress of the activities of SPHN on an annual basis, providing valuable input and recommendations. The 2023 IAB report …

IAB report 2023 Read More »

2 October 2023 (updated on 4 December) Effy Vayena has been a dedicated contributor to the SPHN initiative from its inception. As chair of the ELSI Advisory Group (ELSIag) E. Vayena has made important contributions to laying the ground work of today’s network. With the Ethical Framework for Responsible Data processing, the ELSIag established one …

Susanne Driessen as new ELSIag Chair, farewell and thank you to Effy Vayena Read More »