FAQ

Starting a new medication often places a lot on your shoulders. This early phase is crucial - it involves building new knowledge and developing habits that support your health. It’s also a time when many questions naturally come up, day after day. myCare Start is a healthcare service designed for people beginning long-term treatment. These sessions give you the opportunity to better understand your treatment, manage your medication in daily life, and gives you a chance to ask questions. 

No. myCare Start complements your usual medical care. Your doctor remains your primary prescriber. Both physician and pharmacist will work together to enhance your experience with the new treatment and better respond to your needs.

You can benefit from myCare Start if your doctor has prescribed you a new long-term medication for any of the following conditions:

• Cardiovascular disease
• High cholesterol (hyperlipidaemia)
• Diabetes
• Respiratory diseases (such as asthma or COPD)
• Depression

Your pharmacist may also identify that you’ve received a new prescription for one of these conditions and propose the myCare Start service to support you at the start of your treatment.

• First consultation (7 to 14 days after starting your new medication):

Held in the pharmacy or by phone. This session helps you understand your treatment and address any questions or concerns you may have. Your pharmacist will work with you and your doctor, if needed, to find solutions together.

If your new treatment includes a medical device, and you need a demonstration on how to use it, please bring the device with you to the consultation. The pharmacist will go over how to use it with you, making sure you feel comfortable and confident using it as part of your new treatment.  You are also welcome to note down any questions about your medication and bring them to the consultation.

• Second consultation (2 to 4 weeks later):                                                                                                 

This follow-up is an opportunity to review progress, address any new concerns, and adjust strategies as needed. By the end of the consultation, you should feel more confident managing your medication for the next weeks and months. 

At the end of the service, your pharmacist will send a short report to your doctor to ensure good communication.

Yes, you are welcome to be accompanied by a family member, friend, or caregiver during your myCare Start consultations. Having someone with you can be helpful for support, asking questions, or remembering the information discussed.

However, please note that this person cannot replace you during the consultation: the discussion must be held with you directly. 

Your pharmacist or doctor may have mentioned a study evaluating the myCare Start service. This research is important to help decide whether the service should become part of regular healthcare in Switzerland.

To do this, the University of Geneva has launched a study called myCare Start – Implementation project (myCare Start-I). The goal is to see how effective and cost-effective the service is and whether it’s a good use of healthcare resources.

The study includes two groups:

• The first group receives usual care (control patients).
• The second group receives the myCare Start consultations (intervention patients).

myCare Start is inspired by a similar service in the United Kingdom called the New Medicines Service (NMS). Research has shown that when pharmacists follow up with patients shortly after a new long-term treatment is prescribed, it can significantly improve how well people take their medication. Compared to usual care, patients receiving the NMS were more likely to take their medicines as prescribed, which led to better health outcomes and lower healthcare costs over time. The myCare Start service builds on this model. It has been co-developed with Swiss patients, pharmacists, physicians, and other healthcare actors to ensure it fits the Swiss healthcare system and supports people more effectively at the start of treatment.

You may be eligible to participate in the myCare Start-I study if:

• You are 18 years or older.
• You have mandatory basic health insurance in Switzerland.
• You can manage your treatment on your own (without home nursing or professional support).
• Your doctor has prescribed you a new long-term medication for one of the following conditions described above (cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol (hyperlipidemia), diabetes, respiratory diseases (asthma or COPD), depression).
• You have not taken part in a similar educational program related to this treatment in the last 3 months.

If you’re not sure, ask your pharmacist or doctor if you might be eligible.

No, the myCare Start service and participation in the myCare Start-I evaluation study are completely free of charge. You do not have to pay anything for the consultations or for taking part in the research. Whether you are in the usual care group or the intervention group, your participation comes at no cost to you.

The myCare Start service has never been evaluated in Switzerland, and researchers need to assess whether it is effective and beneficial for the Swiss healthcare system. The results of this national study will help determine whether myCare Start should be made widely available to more patients in the future. To carry out this evaluation, the research team needs to collect data about your treatment and healthcare usage. All information is handled securely and confidentially, and your consent is required before any data is shared.

The research team will collect information through short surveys about: your medications in your daily life,  your quality of life, and basic personal information, such as age, gender, and education.

If you receive the myCare Start consultations, you will also be asked to complete brief surveys about the quality of those consultations.

In addition, with your consent, the researchers will access your health insurance data, which includes:

• Details about your medications and their costs (name, dosage, box size, number of boxes, dispensing dates), 
• Healthcare services you received (medical visits, nursing visits, emergency room visits, any hospital stays, costs of laboratory tests, and dates). 
• Personal data such as age, gender, marital status, nationality, type of insurance contract, and postcode.

This information will help the research team understand whether the myCare Start service can lead to cost savings for the Swiss healthcare system. The data collection period will cover the 30 days leading up to the date you give your informed consent and will continue for 12 months thereafter. All data collected is in a coded and secured form. 

When your data is coded, it means that your personal information (like your name, date of birth) is separated from the health information collected for the study.  Instead of using your name, the researchers assign a code number to your data. Only a very small number of authorised people can link your name to that code — and only if necessary.  This process helps protect your privacy and ensures that the information used in the study cannot identify you. All data is stored securely on password-protected servers at the University of Geneva. These servers are protected by strict security measures and can only be accessed by authorised research staff.  Every access to it is recorded and traceable. 

No, your personal information is safe and protected. All the data collected for the myCare Start-I study is securely stored by the myCare Start-I Core research team at the University of Geneva. You can visit our research group page to see the team working on this project.  Your data is coded, which means it cannot be traced back to you by name. Neither your pharmacist nor your doctor will have access to the research data you provide in surveys or from your health insurance. Only authorised researchers working on the study can access it, and only for scientific purposes. Your privacy and trust are very important to us!

Yes, that’s correct.  You will also be asked to complete short surveys at five different timepoints throughout the study. Each survey takes about 5-10 minutes to complete. Once you give your consent, the pharmacy staff will collect your email address.  You will receive them by email, but if you prefer, a member of the research team can help you complete them over the phone. These surveys help the research team understand how you are doing with your medication and how the myCare Start service is working. You will be asked to complete these surveys in the way that is most convenient for you: on your mobile phone, on a computer, or with help from the research team over the phone. 

No, your pharmacist and doctor do not have access to the answers you give in the surveys. Only authorised members of the research team can view this information, and it is used strictly for scientific purposes. Your responses are kept confidential! Your medical and pharmaceutical care will not be affected by your survey responses.

Collecting data online allows you to complete the surveys easily and securely from home, on your phone, tablet, or computer, whenever it is convenient for you.

The data is collected through a secure platform called REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture), which is specially designed for clinical and scientific research. It is used by universities and hospitals for high-quality research projects.

Here are a few reasons why REDCap is safe:

• It is a trusted platform used in healthcare and clinical research in Switzerland.
• Each participating university or research institution (like the University of Geneva) has its own secure REDCap database, fully controlled by the institution.
• Your data is stored on secure servers at the University of Geneva, and only authorised members of the research team can access it.
• Your data in REDCap is coded, ensuring your personal information remains confidential  -  it cannot be linked back to you by name in the research data analysis.
• The system follows strict Swiss and international data protection standards and has been approved by the Ethics Comittee of the Canton of Geneva (study number: 2025-00715). 

If you prefer not to use the online system, you can also complete the surveys over the phone with a member of the research team.

If you are in the usual care group, and you give your consent, you will still be asked to complete short surveys at five time points after receiving your new medication, as shown in the figure below.

Even if you do not receive the myCare Start consultations, your participation is still very important. By completing the surveys, you are helping researchers evaluate if new services like myCare Start are more effective compared to the current practice in Switzerland. Your contribution will support Swiss healthcare research and help improve future care for patients starting long-term treatments. As a thank you, you will receive a 15 CHF Coop or Migros voucher after completing all five online surveys.

If you are in the intervention group, your pharmacist will introduce the myCare Start-I study and ask you to sign the consent form at the end of your first myCare Start consultation. In addition to benefiting from two personalised consultations with your pharmacist, you will also be asked to complete a series of short surveys at five time points throughout 12 months, as shown in the figure below. 

If you are in the group receiving the myCare Start service, you will benefit from two personalised consultations with your pharmacist to support you in starting your new long-term medication. These sessions can help you better understand your treatment, address any concerns early on, and feel more confident managing your medication. By taking part in the study, you are also contributing to important research that aims to improve how healthcare services are delivered in Switzerland.

No, once you are placed in a group, it cannot be changed. The way you were assigned to a group depends on when you came to the pharmacy with your new prescription. This approach helps the research team compare the myCare Start service with usual care in a fair and reliable way. Both groups are equally important for the study, and your participation is valuable no matter which group you are in.

Yes. All pharmacists participating in the myCare Start service have received specialised training to deliver the service professionally and in a way that is centred around your needs. They are qualified healthcare professionals with expert knowledge of medications and how they work. Their role is to support you, answer your questions, and help you feel confident about starting your new treatment. They also work closely with your doctor to ensure that information is shared effectively, so that you receive safe, coordinated, and high-quality care.

If you have any questions or concerns about the study, you are welcome to contact the research team at the University of Geneva.

You can:

• Send us an email at: mycarestart(at)unige.ch
• Call us:
  • French:    +41 (0)22 379 12 86
  • German: +41 (0)22 379 58 09

We’ll be happy to support you and answer any questions you may have.