Approach
The objective was to provide political and technical support to the Swiss Podiatry Association (OPS) in implementing the Fridez Motion (2012) for the coverage of podiatry services for people with diabetes by the compulsory health insurance (OKP). The motion (12.3111) demanded that podiatric foot care for individuals affected by diabetes provided by qualified podiatrists (HF) be billable via the OKP. Following the adoption of the motion by the Federal Council in 2012, the QualiCCare association supported its member organization OPS in the strategic, political, and substantive implementation at the federal level.
Insights
The support included structured political guidance during meetings at the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) as well as during important internal association discussions with the three linguistic regional organizations of the OPS in the relevant languages. The goal was a coherent, nationally coordinated positioning of the organization. QualiCCare, represented by Managing Director Dr. Astrid Czock, also supported OPS with political statements, the coordination of technical feedback on the INFRAS study regarding future podiatry services commissioned by the FOPH, and the compilation of an evidence-based literature dossier for the FOPH. The support thus made a significant contribution to the technically sound and politically coordinated implementation of the Fridez Motion and strengthened the position of Swiss podiatrists in the health policy process.
This project was carried out by Dr. Astrid Czock in her capacity as Managing Director of QualiCCare.