A Master’s thesis topic is available at the Centre for Digital Health Interventions:

CDHI Thesis Title:

Conceptualizing a Swiss Digital Health Validation Center

Background:

Switzerland has several regional hubs that support digital health innovation; however, the lack of a nationally coordinated validation framework creates barriers to scale, reimbursement, and integration. Without harmonized validation criteria and processes, startups often face the “pilot trap,” and payers and providers lack trusted mechanisms to evaluate and adopt new solutions.

This thesis aims to assess the current Swiss landscape and design a concept for a Swiss Digital Health Validation Center that supports national integration, evidence generation, and reimbursement for digital health technologies.

Objective:

• Analyze the Swiss digital health validation and reimbursement ecosystem
• Identify key structural and procedural gaps
• Derive design implications for a Swiss Digital Health Validation Center
• Formulate a conceptual design (e.g., governance, processes, standards, stakeholder model)
• Propose adaptation strategies aligned with the Swiss regulatory and healthcare system

Key Topics to Explore:

• Mission & Scope: Strategic purpose; technology domains covered
• Governance & Ownership: Legal status, public-private structure, steering committees
• Definition of Digital Health Technology: DTx, diagnostics, SaMD, others
• Eligibility Criteria: CE/FDA classification, clinical maturity, target users
• Validation Evidence & Measurements: Clinical, organizational, and economic endpoints
• Process Design: Phased validation models, timelines, provisional tracks
• Reimbursement Pathway & Pricing: Integration into Swiss reimbursement logic (e.g., MiGeL, OKP); incentive structures
• Data & Interoperability: Compliance with Swiss privacy laws, cybersecurity, interoperability standards
• Stakeholder Engagement: Engagement models for payers, clinicians, patients, regulators, and innovators
• Funding & Sustainability: Public subsidies, service fees, venture co-funding

Suggested Methodology:

• Policy & Literature Review:
  • Mapping current validation and reimbursement structures in Switzerland
  • Analysis of Swissmedic, FOPH/BAG, HTA processes, MiGeL, and OKP documentation
  • Review of policy reports, accelerator models, and relevant academic research
• Expert Interviews:
  • Semi-structured interviews with key Swiss stakeholders: regulators, health insurers, HTA experts, providers, innovators, academics, patient groups
  • Aim: gather context-specific insights and understand stakeholder needs
• Co-Creation Workshops:
  • Based on findings from policy and literature reviews and interviews
  • Stakeholder-inclusive design sessions to develop and refine a viable concept for the validation center
  • Focus on aligning interests and co-developing features such as governance, funding, and service offeringsC

Deliverables:

• A synthesized overview of the current Swiss validation and reimbursement ecosystem
• A gap analysis identifying major challenges to digital health reimbursement
• A conceptual framework for a Swiss Digital Health Validation Center
• (Optional) Target operating model and implementation roadmap of a Swiss validation and reimbursement Center.

For more information, please contact Dr. Mia Jovanova,  Odile-Florence Giger and Wasu Mekniran .