Nurse caring for elderly patient in hospital bed.

Visit - Zollikerberg Hospital at Home®

"Our hospital is breaking new ground: with this innovative additional offer, we are implementing patient-centricity par excellence." Prof. Dr Ludwig Theodor Heuss, Head Physician and Clinic Director of the Clinic for Internal Medicine

With our additional "Visit - Zollikerberg Hospital at Home®" programme, we offer you equivalent inpatient treatment in your own four walls. An interdisciplinary team from our hospital, consisting of doctors and specially trained nursing staff, will look after you. We utilise the possibilities of telemedicine for your safety and medical monitoring. Our services also include comprehensive pre- and post-operative care as well as communication with your family doctor.

In good hands

"Visit - Zollikerberg Hospital at Home®" is aimed at patients of all ages. Instead of an acute hospitalisation, we treat you at home. This is possible if the following criteria are met:

You are suffering from an acute illness that would require hospitalisation.
You and your relatives agree to medical treatment at home.
You live no more than 15 minutes' drive from Zollikerberg Hospital, so that we can reach you quickly in an emergency.
Medical treatment at home can be guaranteed for your medical condition in a private setting. This depends on the diagnosis and the severity of the illness.

You report to us in an emergency due to an acute illness or are referred to us. You will then receive a comprehensive diagnosis on our emergency ward. Up to this point, everything is exactly the same as for a normal hospitalisation.

If you require acute hospitalisation* and meet the above criteria, you can choose the "Visit - Spital Zollikerberg Zuhause®" service as an alternative to conventional inpatient admission.

*You require acute hospitalisation in the event of sudden and severe health problems, which are usually of short duration and require short-term, intensive medical or nursing care.

This is what you can expect from treatment at home:

You benefit from regular medical and nursing rounds at your home to ensure optimal care and treatment.
Thanks to 24/7 telemedical monitoring, we are available for you around the clock and can continuously monitor your state of health.
Close collaboration with pre- and post-treatment teams ensures seamless medical care and optimally supports your recovery process.
We carry out necessary medical examinations such as blood tests, ECGs and ultrasounds in your own home to save you a trip to hospital and at the same time provide you with high-quality medical care.

Treatment by "Visit - Spital Zollikerberg Zuhause®" offers the following advantages over hospitalisation:

You benefit from safety and a better recovery in your familiar surroundings.
You share responsibility for your recovery process.
Your mobility is actively promoted.
Acute confusion (delirium) occurs less frequently.
The risk of falling is lower at home.
You avoid hospital-acquired infections (nosocomial infections) and reduce multiple medication (polypharmacy).

The availability of the treatment team and telemedical monitoring of the most important bodily functions are guaranteed around the clock.

Briefly introduced

"Visit - Spital Zollikerberg Zuhause®" honoured with CSS Quality Crystal Award

On 22 September 2022, Zollikerberg Hospital received the CSS Quality Crystal Award "Home Care" for "Visit - Spital Zollikerberg Zuhause®". The award recognises outstanding and innovative projects in the healthcare sector and evaluates them according to the criteria of added value for patients, innovative character or effectiveness.

Learn more

Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about "Visit - Spital Zollikerberg Zuhause®"

Abroad, the "Hospital at Home" (HAH or "home hospital") concept is already established in acute hospitals in over 30 countries (including Scandinavia, the UK and the USA) and represents an important complementary treatment option. This service is still new in Switzerland. With "Visit - Zollikerberg Hospital at Home®", Zollikerberg Hospital has launched a pioneering project in the Swiss healthcare system. The "Visit" treatment at home is equivalent to inpatient hospital treatment and is supported by state-of-the-art communication and monitoring technologies.

In the event of an acute illness, patients come to the emergency ward at Zollikerberg Hospital on their own initiative or on referral from their GP. We then clarify the clinical picture and whether treatment at home is possible. If your safety is guaranteed, you are free to decide whether you want to be treated in your own home or whether you would prefer to be hospitalised.

In the case of care at home, as with conventional treatment in hospital, attention is paid to close communication with your family doctor and other carers, such as Spitex organisations.

At the end of your treatment at home, you will receive all the necessary documents such as the dosage card, prescriptions and a Spitex and/or physiotherapy prescription.

Therapy and duration of therapy depend on the clinical picture and correspond to the guidelines of Zollikerberg Hospital. Treatment is then carried out entirely at home. Regular ward rounds are carried out Monday to Saturday by experienced doctors from Zollikerberg Hospital and two to three daily ward rounds by the nursing staff. There are no medical rounds on Sundays, but there is a nursing round. The nurse is in close contact with the doctor. The documentation takes place as usual in the hospital information system of Zollikerberg Hospital.

Visits by therapists and counsellors can also take place as required. The social counselling staff at Zollikerberg Hospital can be contacted by telephone. Volunteers can also be called in to provide support. For your safety, we will monitor you around the clock using a plaster on your chest wall. This data will be forwarded securely to our treatment team. If your condition deteriorates to such an extent that safety at home can no longer be guaranteed, we will transfer you to Zollikerberg Hospital for further treatment at any time.

Your relatives do not have to take on any caring activities. However, they can contact Zollikerberg Hospital at any time and support communication with the treatment team.

During the information session on the "Visit - Zollikerberg Hospital at Home®" treatment model at the hospital, we will not only talk to you as a patient, but also to your relatives. We will clarify whether they are willing and feel confident and able to support this approach. In the event of an acute emergency, your relatives must contact Zollikerberg Hospital immediately if you are unable to do so.