Health Service Delivery in Rural Areas: Two Swiss Cases

Abstract

Social trends and the costs of health technologies lead to concentrate the availability of specialized services. This raises debates on the appropriate geography of healthcare. An example is the discussion about the rationality of closing small hospitals, typically located in rural and/or remote areas. We analyzed two cases of rural and/or remote areas of Switzerland experiencing a radical reorganization of a previously existing hospital.

Keywords

• Rural/remote areas
• health service delivery
• case studies
• Switzerland