Patients will be able to exchange their experiences on a new online platform from Basel.
Many people living in Switzerland have a network, be it with family, with friends, with former school colleagues or through work. A network in which you can exchange ideas about topics in different life situations. Also tips on which doctor you have had good experiences with.
Positive experiences should be passed on
But such a network is also denied to certain people: people with a migration background, for example, who have not lived in Switzerland for long. This is where a new platform comes into play: chatter stands for “Health, Platform and Personal” and is a directory of health professionals who work in a “discrimination-sensitive” manner.
Here people from all over Switzerland can share their experiences with health workers or ask questions such as: Is there an Arabic-speaking family doctor in Basel?
Legend:
Where can I find a doctor who speaks Arabic or who has had good experiences with people who are overweight?
Keystone/Christian Beutler
Not only people with a migrant background should be able to exchange ideas on the platform: the aim of Geplapler is to make it easier for those people who would otherwise have to fight for it to have access to good human and medical care.
When people have bad experiences in healthcare, it can cause them great stress.
For example, users should also find recommendations from and for non-binary and trans people, overweight people, HIV-positive people or people in wheelchairs. People who are repeatedly confronted with resentment and discrimination in everyday life.
Peer-to-peer approach
“When people have bad experiences in the healthcare system, it can cause them a lot of stress,” says Marc Inderbinen, psychologist and psychotherapist who helped set up the platform.
Possible consequence: People withdraw and forego adequate medical treatment. People who have been in a similar situation and have had good experiences with certain specialists should prevent such situations. This approach is called peer-to-peer in technical language.
The platform was founded by an association of the same name based in Basel. Some of the seven founders work in the healthcare sector themselves and are patients themselves. The project was financed by around 200 donors.
Important: only positive experiences
According to the initiators, there is currently no comparable offer in German-speaking Switzerland. A similar internet platform already exists in French-speaking Switzerland: «Adopt a Gynecologist» is aimed at people who want to exchange their experiences with gynecologists.
That’s how chatter works
Specifically, Chatter works with a filter function. You enter the desired subject area, the desired location and who the recommendation comes from, for example people with refugee experience or trans people. On the other hand, you can make recommendations that are checked before activation.
An important principle of Geplaper is: No negative reviews or reports are possible, such as on Google. “We want to focus on the positive,” says co-initiator Jana Krückl. If you have negative experiences, please refer to places where you can report them.
Geplaper is still in a pilot phase until the end of 2025. The project should then be evaluated and continued. The initiators report that initial feedback has already been very positive.
