Publications

25.03.2025

Real-world studies in medicine: opportunities and risks

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Health-related activities, such as those of hospitals and insurance companies, generate large amounts of data every day. This so-called «real-world data» can be used in various ways for health research and is attracting a lot of attention. In the lead article of the current SAMS Bulletin, Dr Michaela Egli, philosopher and project manager at the Swiss Personalized Health Network (SPHN), discusses the opportunities and risks of real-world studies.

Bulletin 1/2025 also features the first editorial by Prof. Arnaud Perrier, who, as SAMS President, puts the importance of health data and SPHN into perspective. Prof. Urs Frey reflects in a «Carte blanche» on his time als SPHN-president and the role of the SAMS. Information from the Careum event on the Federal Health Act and news from our Departments Ethics and Promotion round off the first issue of the year.

SAMS Bulletin 1/2025, French version (PDF)

Other publications

SPHN

17.03.2025

Swiss Personalized Health Network ensures continuity

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The development phase of the Swiss Personalized Health Network (SPHN) was successfully completed at the end of 2024. Over the next four years, the network will focus on maintaining and establishing its services and infrastructures. From 2029, SPHN aims to become an integral part of the national data infrastructure.

For the 2025–2028 funding period, SAMS will be responsible for the mandate of SPHN’s Data Coordination Center (DCC) and will continue its successful collaboration with the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics. The federal government plans to support the DCC with CHF 20.7 million over the next four years. In the future, the network partners will also be increasingly involved financially. This will broadly support the transition from a national funding initiative to an integral part of the data infrastructure. More information on the future of SPHN can be found in our newsletter.

Further information

Academy

13.03.2025

«Science et politique à table!»: Is assisted suicide in Switzerland sufficiently regulated?

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With «Science et Politique à table!», the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences (a+) invite members of parliament to discuss current topics with experts from the scientific community. On March 4, 2025, the discussion focused on the appropriate legal and institutional framework for assisted suicide in Switzerland. The summary of the discussions, the speakers' presentations as well as relevant contacts are now available on the a+ website.

In recent years, the number of assisted suicides relative to all deaths has increased significantly in Switzerland: from 0.2% (1999) to 2.1% (2022). If this trend continues, the proportion is likely to be 5% in 10 to 15 years. The legal framework for assisted suicide is defined by the Swiss Criminal Code and the Narcotics Act. The medical-ethical guidelines of the SAMS provide guidelines for physicians, but assisted suicide is largely in the hands of private institutions. At what point does self-regulation reach its limits? What options are there for action? Related documents and contacts can be found on the a+ website.

Summary of the discussion, in French (PDF)

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Projects

06.03.2025

Forum of the ETHICH Consortium: Save-the-Date and Call for Abstracts

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On September 2 2025, the Swiss Consortium for Sustainable Health and Ecological Change in the Health System (ETHICH), founded by the SAMS, is organizing a national forum in Bern. New projects and initiatives will be presented, and the exchanges initiated during the two previous editions will be continued and strengthened. Abstracts of projects can now be submitted.

Projects may be specific to the topic of this year's Forum «Resource consumption in the healthcare sector - from oversupply to a circular economy» or on one of the seven proposals of the position paper «Promotion of health services respecting planetary boundaries» (SAMS, 2022). Abstracts can be submitted in English, German or French until May 31 2025. Further information can be found on the website.

SAMS position paper, in French (PDF)

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SPHN

03.03.2025

SPHN: New group leader of the SIB Personalized Health Informatics Group

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Dr. Davide Chiarugi joins SPHN as the new leader of the SIB Personalized Health Informatics Group (PHI), succeeding Katrin Crameri. With a PhD in Computer Science and extensive leadership experience, he brings strong expertise in data management and coordinating multi-stakeholder projects.

In the past years, Dr. Chiarugi led different groups in the domain of data-driven research, scientific computing, and data management in the context of prestigious institutions such as the Max Planck Society and the University of Cambridge (UK). In his new role, Dr. Davide Chiarugi will oversee the part of the SPHN Data Coordination Center (DCC) that is hosted by the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics in Basel. The general management of the SPHN DCC is under the responsibility of Thomas Geiger. More information can be found on the SPHN website.

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SPHN

27.02.2025

New SPHN guidance for genomic data in human research

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The secondary use of human genomic data not only offers significant opportunities for research, but also entails considerable responsibility. The new guidance of the Advisory Group for Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSIag) of the Swiss Personalized Health Network (SPHN) offers practical ethical recommendations.

The guidance particularly addresses challenges regarding autonomous decision-making and the responsible communication of genetic findings, privacy protection and data access conditions for genomic data. It also emphasizes the importance of active participation of patients and citizens in genomic research. The guidance aims to promote a harmonized national approach to genomic data governance, enabling both national and international collaboration. By adopting these recommendations, stakeholders can help establish a trustworthy framework for genomic research.

Guidance (PDF)

Further information

Academy

25.02.2025

Focus on interprofessionality and patient involvement

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In our last Newsletter in 2024, we invited our readers to express their wishes regarding the SAMS. From the responses we received, the three most common themes were: promoting all health professions, involving patients and the public, and strengthening primary care.

«If you were to take over from Prof. Arnaud Perrier as head of the SAMS in 2025, what topics would you focus on?» This was the question we asked. Even before the detailed evaluation it was clear that the promotion of all health professions was high on the list of concerns. For example, there is a desire for an MD-PhD program like the one available for doctors interested in research. More ideas can be found in our newsletter published today (available in French or German).

Further information

Funding

19.02.2025

Call open: For Women in Science

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«For Woman in Science» is the successful global cooperation of UNESCO and L'Oréal. Since 1998, these two partners have been promoting women in science, fostering gender equality and highlighting the visibility of women in research as role models. The Swiss Program is launched in 2025 in partnership with the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW).

For this first edition, the program will award a total of CHF 100’000 distributed in 4 endowments of CHF 25’000 each to postdoctoral female researchers conducting exceptional work in STEM fields in Switzerland. The call for applications is also open to medical professionals. Registration is possible until 31 March 2025. Details can be found online.

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