Fewer inpatients were treated in Swiss hospitals in 2017. This is the first time that the number of hospital admittances has declined since records began. In all, one million people, or 12% of the population, stayed as an inpatient in one of Switzerland’s 281 hospitals or birthing centres. The decline recorded was small, but the first once since 1998, the Federal Statistical Office said on Friday. As some patients were treated multiple times, the number of actual inpatient stays was 1.5 million, like in 2016. The number of days of inpatient treatment dropped from 11.8 million in 2016 to 11.6 in 2017. Outpatient costs up The cost of inpatient care, however, remained stable at CHF18.8 billion ($18.8 billion) last year. Outpatient cost rose by almost 5.5% to CHF7.8 billion. There were also 18.6 million outpatient consultations for 4 million people, a rise of 1.5% in outpatient services on 2016. Treatment costs have remained stable since 2015: the average inpatient ...
