Swiss gain half a year in life expectancy as a result of nation-wide use of personalized health data

The availability of personalized health data that many individuals collect using their wearable and smart devices has proved beneficial to better diagnose and treat individuals. Key enablers have been the education initiative for medical started by the Swiss government in 2024 after the cross-party "I want to help" initiative has been adopted, and the definition of national standards by BAG, which was initially criticized but improved later on. 

"Bringing personalized health data to the doctor´'s appointment has become as regular as taking the blood pressure in the late 20th century." according to the Chief Physician of a major Swiss hospital.

The most obvious result has been the increase in life expectancy over the last 5 years by - on average - 0.5 years for male and females. Switzerland now surpassed Japan. Correspondingly the healthcare expenses reduced per person and for Switzerland in total - despite the costs for the technical and (medical) devices. 

The fear of a digital divide ripping apart the community proved unfounded, also because of complementary measures - especially free education for the general public online and offline.