Seamless Communication in the Swiss Healthcare System: HIN Talk Securely Connects Healthcare Professionals in Real Time

HIN: A Trusted Anchor in the Healthcare Sector

Since its founding in 1996 by the Swiss Medical Association (FMH) and the Ärztekasse, Health Info Net AG—HIN for short—has established itself as a central anchor of trust for digital communication in the Swiss healthcare system. From its three locations in Zurich, Yverdon-les-Bains, and Bioggio, HIN provides healthcare professionals throughout Switzerland with secure, privacy-compliant solutions, including encrypted emails via HIN Mail, secure file transfers, and digital signatures.

A key element of its offering is the HIN Identity, which not only verifies a person’s identity but also confirms their status as a healthcare professional based on government registries. Today, the HIN Community is the largest verified community of healthcare professionals in Switzerland.

The Challenge: Communication Without Compromise

Data exchange that complies with data protection regulations has a solid foundation in the Swiss healthcare system thanks to HIN Mail. However, the traditional email protocol reaches its limits in the fast-paced daily work environment. Images of wounds, quick follow-up questions to specialists, coordination between primary care physicians, outpatient care and home care (Spitex), and health insurers: All of this requires a channel that transmits data in real time while meeting the requirements of Swiss data protection law.

Common messaging solutions often fail to meet the strict requirements of the Swiss healthcare system. Data leaves Switzerland, and data protection regulations are difficult to comply with—which poses a legal problem for data subject to Swiss data protection law. Health Info Net AG drew the necessary conclusion and set the following goal: HIN needs its own secure messaging service that offers the same ease of use as WhatsApp, features end-to-end encryption, guarantees digital sovereignty, and is subject to Swiss law.

From In-House Development to a Strategic Partnership

HIN began by developing its own instant messaging service called HIN Talk, which was in use for years. Over time, it became clear that in-house development alone could only be part of the solution. That’s why HIN decided to take a different approach and bring a strategic technology partner on board. This partner needed to share the same values and understand the same regulatory framework so that together they could develop a solution that would be sustainable in the long term.

The requirements were clear: data protection in accordance with Swiss law, end-to-end encryption, and digital sovereignty—meaning, among other things, independence from American or Chinese providers. HIN found what it was looking for in Threema. The Swiss company, with over 12 million users worldwide and more than 8,000 organizations as clients, had not only established itself as a secure consumer messaging app but had also built a strong position in the government and defense sectors, including with the Swiss Army and in Germany. The decisive factor was a shared fundamental philosophy: sovereignty is not a marketing promise, but a technical prerequisite. Consequently, the same requirements also apply to the infrastructure layer on which HIN Talk runs. That is why the choice fell on Exoscale, the Swiss cloud infrastructure provider from A1 Digital.

HIN Talk Today

HIN Talk connects what previously existed separately: the verified HIN identity with a full-featured communication platform. Anyone sending a message via HIN Talk knows that the person on the other end is exactly who they claim to be, verified by HIN. A separate phone number is not required to use the service.

The features already available today cover the core needs: text messages, voice messages, and file sharing in one-on-one and group chats, as well as audio and video calls, accessible on mobile devices and desktops. The added value becomes clear in a specific care scenario: A home care worker visits an elderly patient at home and notices that a change in a wound requires consultation with the treating physician. The necessary coordination can be handled securely, quickly, and with a clear audit trail via HIN Talk. The result is faster decision-making and better coordination throughout the entire care chain.

The platform behind the platform

HIN Talk is based on Threema’s solution and runs on A1 Digital’s Exoscale infrastructure. Attila Fekete, COO at HIN, describes the requirements for this infrastructure: “Added value for all stakeholders can only be achieved if HIN Talk runs on a resilient, scalable, and highly secure platform.”

These requirements carry greater weight in the healthcare sector than in other industries because they are directly linked to patient safety. Exoscale specifically addresses these requirements: A 99.95 percent availability guarantee for core services, supported by automatic failover and triple physical data redundancy, ensures resilience. The infrastructure scales with growing user numbers without manual intervention. Security and protection are ensured by certifications to ISO 27001, ISO 27017, and ISO 27018, as well as BSI C5 Type 2 and SOC 2 Type 2 attestations, which are relevant for regulated workloads in the healthcare sector.

Attila Fekete sums up what this means in practice: “We couldn’t realize our vision if we didn’t have the assurance that Exoscale operates Threema’s technology with high quality, high availability, and high scalability.”

In addition to its core function as a secure communication channel, HIN Talk fulfills a second, strategically important role: that of an emergency communication channel. If other systems within an organization—such as email or telephone—go down, HIN Talk remains an independent communication channel between employees. Looking ahead, this also applies within regional healthcare networks, where healthcare professionals rely on being able to reach one another.

Outlook

In its current form, based on Threema technology and Exoscale, HIN Talk is still in the early stages of development. HIN is working on integrating patients: without becoming HIN Talk users themselves, patients will soon be able to participate in video calls with their treating physician via a secure link. For larger institutions, enterprise features will follow, which will integrate the platform more deeply into existing systems and offer the ability to map out entire workflows or collaboration scenarios.

The more comprehensive HIN Talk becomes, the greater the demands on the infrastructure: more users, more data, and more scenarios in which an outage is not an option. Thanks to its Exoscale foundation, HIN Talk can evolve from a secure messenger into an infrastructure for networked, integrated care in the Swiss healthcare system.