News Schulthess Klinik Annual Report – «Healing, Researching, Helping»

In 2021, the clinic treated 8,004 inpatients, performed 9,641 operations and carried out 131,438 outpatient consultations. Schulthess Klinik finished off the year with a turnover of CHF 197.7 million. The proportion of patients with general and supplementary insurance was quite balanced at 51.7% and 48.3% respectively. The comprehensive online annual report recognises what lies behind these figures and provides a detailed insight into the various specialist departments. 

In the spirit of the founder Wilhelm Schulthess 

Founded in 1883, the clinic has been financially supported by the Wilhelm Schulthess Foundation since 1935. Cutting-edge medicine for everyone, scientific innovation and a heartfelt focus on humanity have always characterised our work, just as our founder Wilhelm Schulthess intended. As such, the foundation’s concept of «Healing, Researching, Helping» is a recurring theme through the annual report. «I am very proud of our employees, who have once again made tremendous achievements in the areas of cutting-edge medicine, innovation and humanity in what has been a challenging year,» says delighted CEO Andrea Rytz. 

Healing – cutting-edge medicine 

Alleviating people’s pain and giving them a new joy in their movement is the primary goal of Schulthess Klinik. This can be achieved thanks to the extraordinary level of specialisation and associated extensive knowledge and experience of the clinic’s specialists. The interdisciplinary cooperation between the specialist departments – both surgical and non-surgical – also plays a decisive role. This means that the patient benefits not just from having a highly specialised treating doctor in charge of their care, but also from the expertise of multiple staff members and departments across the board. 

Research – innovation 

Cutting-edge medicine is only possible if you know what you are doing, which is why well-founded science, and thus research, has a long history at Schulthess Klinik. Prof. Norbert Gschwend laid the foundation for outcome research back in 1972 by introducing internal registries for hip and knee prostheses. Since 2004, the clinic has conducted more than 186,000 systematic patient surveys, using them to draw conclusion relating to the future in studies and sharing this knowledge. The clinic’s 99 peer-reviewed publications and over 200 lectures and training sessions represent just a portion of its scientific output in 2021. The Wilhelm Schulthess Foundation research fund directly supports the scientific advancement of orthopaedics.  

Innovation also means being open to new ideas at all times and constantly questioning the day-to-day, routine way things are done. This also led to various improvements at Schulthess Klinik in 2021, both in medical and non-medical areas. Robotics in the operating theatre and logistics, innovative tools for patient care, even more sustainability and flexible employment models are just a few examples of this. 

Help – humanity 

The charitable foundation continues to shape the clinic today. The patient assistance fund supports patients from Germany and abroad who are facing complex orthopaedic treatment but are not able to cover the financial aspects themselves – for example children from war and crisis zones. 

Equally important is the support within the clinic. «We are only able to accompany our patients as well as we do on their road to recovery because we can count on the tireless efforts of our employees – every day. This means that, in return, we also have to give them a healthy foundation, and support and empower them,» explains Andrea Rytz. 

In the interest of the environment, Schulthess Klinik has once again decided not to publish a complete printed version of the Annual Report. The most important information from the report has been distributed to a small circle of recipients, printed on environmentally friendly paper.

Report with detailed key figures: