How do you prepare a Swiss clinic for a cantonal inspection?

Geneva may inspect any premises of a health institution and consult any document linked to its activity, and Zurich's Gesundheitsdirektion supervises every licensed institution and may visit before granting a licence. Readiness means the operating concept, the staff list, the patient records and the quality file match what the clinic actually does, every day.

What the law lets the canton do

In Geneva, the competent authority may inspect or have inspected any premises of a health institution, consult any document or item linked to its activity, write an inspection report, send its observations in writing and require changes, and inspections may carry fees.¹ The department checks that the conditions of the licence are still met and may carry out quality controls.² In Zurich, institutions are under the health supervision of the Gesundheitsdirektion, and its Merkblatt reserves a visit to the institution or its sites before a licence is granted.³⁴

Zurich's Amt für Gesundheit says the number of supervisory complaints and reports keeps rising, and that patients have contacted it directly more often since the Covid-19 pandemic.⁵ For hospitals on the cantonal list it checks documents by sample and inspects on site at least once per planning period, unannounced where needed.⁵

A routine that keeps you ready

1. Reread the operating concept. Check that services, sites, emergency arrangements and medicines handling still match what the clinic does.
2. Check the staff list against licences. Every professional licensed or supervised, every arrival and departure notified to the canton.
3. Read five records cold. Look for the author and date on every entry, and any change that cannot be seen.
4. Walk the premises. Labelled rooms as on the plans, ambulance access, hygiene as the Hygienekonzept says.
5. Review incidents and complaints. Every one written up, with the action taken and who owns it.
6. Check the signage. The operator and the responsible people named, as Zurich asks, and the responsible doctor's name on the door in Geneva.

1. Month ______ Checked by ______
2. Operating concept still accurate ______
3. Staff list matches licences ______ Changes notified on ______
4. Records read ______ Gaps found ______
5. Incidents and complaints reviewed ______
6. Actions, owner and date ______

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What an inspector is likely to open

Questions

Does Geneva charge for an inspection?

The licence fee of CHF 1,650 includes the inspection, and the RISanté says inspections may carry fees.

Can the canton inspect without notice?

Zurich says unannounced hospital inspections are possible where needed, and Geneva's regulation lets the authority inspect any premises of an institution.

Who inspects a Geneva institution?

The médecin cantonal for most institutions, and the pharmacien cantonal for laboratories, pharmacies, drugstores and optical shops.

Sources

1. 1République et canton de Genève, SILGENEVE, 2025Règlement sur les institutions de santé (RISanté), K 2 05.06, du 9 septembre 2020Read source
2. 2République et canton de Genève, SILGENEVE, 2026Loi sur la santé (LS), K 1 03, du 7 avril 2006Read source
3. 3Kanton Zürich, Zürcher Gesetzessammlung, 2026Gesundheitsgesetz (GesG) vom 2. April 2007, LS 810.1, in force from 1 January 2026Read source
4. 4Kanton Zürich, Gesundheitsdirektion, 2024Merkblatt Betriebsbewilligung für ambulante ärztliche Institutionen, September 2024Read source
5. 5Kanton Zürich, Gesundheitsdirektion, 2026Aufsicht im Gesundheitswesen, Jahresbericht Amt für GesundheitRead source
6. 6République et canton de Genève, SILGENEVE, 2025Règlement fixant les émoluments perçus par le département chargé de la santé (REmSanté), K 1 03.04Read source

Written by the wai team from Cantonal health authorities of Zurich and Geneva guidance, checked on 16 October 2026. This is guidance, not legal advice. Neither the Zurich Gesundheitsdirektion nor Geneva's department of health endorses wai or any software.