Advance Healthcare Directives in Switzerland (Patientenverfügung)

Under Swiss federal law, every person with capacity has the constitutional right to physical integrity and self-determination. Through a written Patientenverfügung, you specify which medical measures (cardiopulmonary resuscitation, invasive mechanical ventilation, artificial nutrition, organ donation) you accept or reject if you can no longer communicate.

Under Art. 372 ZGB, attending physicians are legally bound to respect these directives. The only statutory exception is if the directive violates Swiss federal criminal law or there are well-founded doubts that it represents the patient current, uncoerced will.

Unlike a Vorsorgeauftrag, which requires 100% handwriting or notarization, a Patientenverfügung can be printed from standard medical templates (such as FMH or the Swiss Red Cross) and made legally valid solely with a handwritten date and signature.

In addition to explicit medical instructions, Art. 370 Abs. 2 ZGB permits you to designate one or more natural persons as healthcare representatives (Vertretungspersonen).

This representative is legally authorized to discuss treatment options with medical staff, review medical records, and make real-time decisions in clinical situations not explicitly covered by the written text.

Always discuss your values and ethical preferences in detail with your chosen representative to ensure they feel confident advocating on your behalf in critical hospital care meetings.

A medical directive is only effective if attending emergency personnel and hospital teams know of its existence.

To ensure instant discovery: 1) Carry an emergency card (Hinweiskarte) in your wallet indicating you have an active directive, 2) Store a digital copy in your Electronic Patient Dossier (EPD / DEP), 3) Register its storage location on your Swiss Health Insurance Card (Krankenkassenkarte) under Art. 371 Abs. 2 ZGB, and 4) Provide copies to your Swiss family doctor (Hausarzt).