I am from Canada, and the typical protocol there is to go see a general practioner first and obtain a recommendation for a dermatologist... for which there is a very long wait. I believe that the average wait in Canada is 6 months. But all the counselling and services provided are usually free!
How goes the process here?
Is it possible for me to see a derm right away? I did a search on this and it seems like I can, as there are a lot of threads that indicate people searching for a dermatologist in various regions of Switzerland. Do I have to pay everything up-front? Are majority of services covered by insurance?
Hello Tonino, your payment schedule (and everything else) depends on your insurance package, not surprisingly. You can self refer here and the specialist will just send the bill to you; a problem might then arise as, when you go to claim the expense back from your insurer, they could regard your visit as a touch frivolous as it did not have the official backing of your GP. This happened to me when I organised a routine visit to a specialist without going to the GP first and my then insurer refused to pay.
Now I always visit my GP first; you rarely have to wait long for an appointment here for either your GP or subsequently the specialist they recommend or the specialist you want to see.
A visit to a dermatologist is not always for minor cosmetic reasons. I had an urgent referral in the UK from my GP to a dermatologist, turned out I had a malignant melanoma.
If it is something which is worrying you, get to see your dermatologist as soon as you can, whether through a doctor or by self referral, worry about the cost later.
Around this area, 6 months or more wait is typical for a dermatologist. The advantage of seeing your GP first is that they sometimes have a relationship with a dermatologist and can get you in faster. If urgent there is a very good dermatology clinic, on a walk in basis, as part of the HUG (Geneva University Hospital). Not sure if CHUV (Lausanne University Hospital) has the same or not, but you could/should look into that.
After a quick inspection, my GP called the Dermatologist and made an appointment for me, for the same week.. while I was sitting in her office. (Admittedly for a minor complaint)
I called my insurance, they told me to just call the dermatologist directly. I called the dermatologist and got an appointment the next day. The cost was not covered by insurance as I had not used my franchise, however would be covered if I was over my franchise. I registered the cost so it was accounted as part of my franchise.
I would say that you should have a GP. I don't know what kind of insurance you have, but some insurance models require you to have a GP. Also every specialist I've ever seen wants to know who my GP is. I'm not saying you will be refused treatment if you don't have a GP... but you will be very strongly encouraged to get one. So if it's not urgent, I'd get a GP first.
Also, in my experience, GPs in general are very quick to refer to specialists, you don't have to wait that long. However if you do go to some kind of walk in centre, the first thing they will ask is 'Who is your GP?'. So I don't know if a walk in centre would be happy to refer you to a specialist, unless it was urgent, in which case they would just send you to the nearest hospital.
To answer your question about what a walk in centre is in French... In Morges (near Lausanne), we have a 'Centre MeĢdical', which provides a 24/7 walk in service. Near and around Lausanne there are several 'Vidy-Med' centres which also provide walk in care.
You can register as a patient at these type of places, and when I first moved here, I did just that, because in the UK I was used to a doctors surgery where I could turn up in the morning and wait to see a doctor. However I have now changed, because I discovered that unlike my doctors in the UK (which was a regular doctors surgery with doctors who were there long-term who operated a 'first come, first seen' surgery in the morning and appointments in the afternoon), this walk in centre had a very high staff turn over as most of the doctors would work in this environment for a while as a first job before setting up a private practice. So although I could register as a patient there, I didn't really have a GP - on three occasions I rang up to make an appointment with the doctor I thought was 'my' GP and was told they had left the centre - and I wasn't informed. Various specialists informed me that this is normal practice for a walk in centre, and encouraged me to find a 'proper' GP - i.e. one in a private practice who is not likely to move on without informing you and who only treats registered patients. Since I've switched I've also noticed that I spend much less time sitting in the waiting room!
It is really worthwhile to register with a GP, meet her or him, even if it costs a bit, so that they know who you are (and vice-versa) any pre-existing conditions, family history, check your bloodpressure, etc. There is nothing worse than finding yourself in an emergency abroad, and having to look for a GP there and then. Really worth the money. It will also give you an indication to whether you feel comfortable with that person, etc. That way, if you have to see her/him in an emergency or sudden illness, or a referral to a specialist, the receptionist and Dr will know who you are and have your basic details.
And the cost will go towards your 'franchise' anyway.