Version: 25 July 2023
1 General
1.1 Contractual relations
These General Terms and Conditions for SWICA BENECURA (hereinafter referred to as “GTC”) govern the contractual relationship (hereinafter referred to as “User Agreement”) between Helmedica AG, Technopark Winterthur, Technoparkstrasse 2, CH-8406 Winterthur (hereinafter referred to as “Helmedica”, “we”, “our” or “us”), as the manufacturer of SWICA BENECURA (hereinafter referred to as “BENECURA”), and you, the user of BENECURA (hereinafter referred to as “user” or “you”).
BENECURA is commissioned by SWICA Management AG (may act for all group companies of the SWICA healthcare organisation, in particular SWICA Versicherungen AG, SWICA Krankenversicherung AG and PROVITA Gesundheitsversicherung AG, hereinafter collectively referred to as “SWICA”). SWICA acts as an intermediary for Helmedica during commissioning; the User Agreement therefore applies directly between Helmedica and the user. SWICA is not a party to the User Agreement.
Certain features provided by Helmedica in BENECURA require an additional agreement which must be agreed to separately (hereinafter referred to as “Special Conditions”). If “Special Conditions” apply and you have accepted them electronically, the features will be enabled. In the event of contradictions between these GTC and the “Special Conditions”, the “Special Conditions” shall take precedence.
In connection with the use of BENECURA, additional services (hereinafter referred to as “SWICA Online Services”) may be provided by SWICA in its own name and for its own account.
Accordingly, the GTC for SWICA Online Services and the SWICA Data Protection Declaration apply to SWICA Online Services:
https://www4.swica.ch/p/026_e_AGB_Online_Services.pdf
https://www4.swica.ch/p/058_e_Datenschutzerklaerung_Schweiz.pdf
1.2 Amendment of the GTC
We expressly reserve the right to amend these GTC and any “Special Conditions” at any time. The user will be notified of such a change electronically or by other means and the change will be deemed to have been approved if no express objection is made within one month of notification, but in any case with the next use of BENECURA. If the GTC or the “Special Conditions” are rejected, access to BENECURA and/or the feature in question is no longer possible.
1.3 Medical device
BENECURA is a class IIa medical device according to the Swiss Medical Devices Ordinance (SR 812.213) and Regulation (EU) 2017/745 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2017 on medical devices (hereinafter referred to as “MDR”).
BENECURA offers initial support with health and medical issues without assuming any medical expertise on the part of the user. BENECURA is not a full substitute for the advice of a medical professional.
In accordance with regulatory requirements, as a manufacturer we are obliged to carry out post-market surveillance, vigilance and market surveillance. For this purpose, telephone interviews are used to question individual users on the quality of the recommendations given. In this way, we ensure that BENECURA continues to meet basic safety and performance requirements after it has been placed on the market, that it delivers the promised medical benefits and that BENECURA does not pose a risk to you or the public.
2 Use of BENECURA
Before accessing BENECURA, you will need an Apple ID or a Google account to download BENECURA from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store (hereinafter referred to as the “App Store”) and install it on your mobile device or tablet. BENECURA is suitable for the iOS and Android platforms.
The App Stores are not party to the User Agreement and bear no responsibility for the features and content of BENECURA.
2.1 Access authorisation
Unless expressly defined otherwise, BENECURA is in principle available to all authorised users who have an active contractual or insurance relationship with SWICA and their own e‑mail address.
Access is also subject to additional requirements defined in accordance with the “Special Conditions” for specific features of BENECURA.
You can also use a feature from BENECURA, such as the “SymptomCheck”, for third parties by recording the third party’s symptoms in the “SymptomCheck”. The minimum age of the third party whose symptoms may be recorded by you is 16 years. For this purpose, the third party’s surname, first name, postcode, date of birth and gender must be stored in BENECURA in advance. You are solely responsible for the use of BENECURA by or for the third party.
2.2 Registration and identification
BENECURA requires prior registration using the following personal means of identification:
- E‑mail address, mobile phone number and password
- Information from the insurance policy and the insurance card. The age limit for independent use of BENECURA is 18 years and older. The user may also access the features provided by the “SymptomCheck” module for an uninsured person aged 16 or over.
Anyone who registers for BENECURA in accordance with the specifications is deemed to be a user and is authorised to use BENECURA. Users can generally log in to various SWICA Online Services with their profile (e‑mail, password and TAN via mobile phone number).
The use of BENECURA requires the user to consent to the GTC in advance, whereby there is no general entitlement to access BENECURA. By registering, you acknowledge these GTC for BENECURA and confirm that you have taken note of the BENECURA Privacy Policy. Where “Special Conditions” apply, the services will be enabled once you have electronically accepted the “Special Conditions”.
Once you have agreed to the GTC and to the extent permitted by the additional terms and conditions of the App Stores and third-party providers to be observed, Helmedica grants you the non-exclusive, personal, non-transferable, non-sublicensable right, revocable at any time, to install and use BENECURA exclusively for private, non-commercial purposes on your own devices (smartphones and tablets) or as authorised by the App Store operator and the third-party providers (hereinafter referred to as the “Licence”) for the duration of the User Agreement. You are prohibited from using BENECURA for commercial purposes.
3 Duties of care of the users
As a user, you undertake to comply with the following duties of care when using BENECURA:
- You ensure that all access data is kept secret and protected against misuse by unauthorised persons. In particular, PINs/passwords must be changed immediately after receipt and must not be recorded, passed on or stored unprotected on your end device. We recommend that you only choose “strong” passwords, i.e. sufficiently long combinations of numbers, upper and lower case letters and symbols.
- Unless otherwise expressly defined in these GTC, you are not permitted to use BENECURA for third parties. The use of BENECURA within the framework of the legal right of representation or in the case of a legally valid power of attorney remains reserved. You declare that you have acquired all necessary rights in connection with the uploaded content from third parties. You shall indemnify us against claims by third parties asserted on the basis of an alleged infringement of personal rights and copyrights of third parties.
- When using BENECURA, you are prohibited from providing false or misleading information or from answering questions posed by BENECURA in a manner which is untruthful.
- You may only use BENECURA in accordance with the contract and for the intended purposes.
- You must not infringe any industrial property rights, copyrights or other proprietary rights.
As a user, you are responsible for your end device.
The user shall bear all risks arising from the infringement of the aforementioned duties of care.
4 Security instructions, blocking access and end of contract
4.1 Security instructions
BENECURA is accessed via the Internet. Even with all the state-of-the-art security precautions, absolute security cannot be guaranteed. Your end device is part of the Internet and is outside our control. We therefore draw your attention in particular to the following risks which may arise in connection with the use of BENECURA:
- Insufficient system knowledge and a lack of security precautions on your end device may facilitate unauthorised access. We therefore strongly recommend that you equip your end devices with up-to-date protection programs and protect the use of the Internet connection with a password.
- If you suspect that unauthorised third parties have gained knowledge of your access data, then your access data must be changed immediately and, if necessary, you must ask for your access to be blocked. To do this, you can email benecura@swica.ch.
- We have no influence on whether or how your chosen Internet provider analyses the data traffic. If there is no activity on BENECURA for a certain period of time, the current session is automatically closed for security reasons and you must log in again. There is a latent risk that a third party may gain access to your end device unnoticed while you are using BENECURA.
- When you use a network, there is a risk of malware and the like spreading to your end device when it is connected to the network. You can take necessary security precautions using appropriate security software which is available on the market.
- Despite using modern security technologies, we cannot guarantee absolute security during the transfer of data.
- Your data may be uncontrollably transferred across borders. This also applies to data transfers even if the sender and recipient are located in Switzerland. Although the individual data packets are transmitted in encrypted form, the sender and recipient in each case remain unencrypted. It is therefore possible for conclusions to be drawn about a customer relationship between you, SWICA and Helmedica.
- BENECURA is designed exclusively for use in Switzerland. The use of BENECURA via foreign mobile networks or Internet connections is at your own risk. We would like to point out that if you use BENECURA abroad, the law of the country in which you are currently located may apply. Helmedica cannot influence this and therefore advises against using BENECURA outside Switzerland. It is the user’s responsibility to inform themselves about the law applicable abroad. The user further acknowledges that there may be import and export restrictions on encryption algorithms which may be violated if BENECURA is used abroad. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that information and services provided via BENECURA can be accessed outside Switzerland.
We disclaim any liability for the consequences of non-observance of the security instructions.
4.2 Blocking access
If security risks are identified, we reserve the right to block access until further notice in order to protect your interests and the interests of Helmedica and SWICA.
In the event of suspected misuse of BENECURA (e.g. an incorrect password being entered multiple times), we reserve the right to temporarily block your access to BENECURA.
4.3 End of contract
Unless otherwise regulated, access to BENECURA is automatically terminated as soon as you no longer have a contractual relationship with SWICA. You are responsible for storing outside of BENECURA all data and documents which you wish to keep beyond the end of the contract.
Once the contract comes to an end, all user data will be deleted insofar as this is technically possible and legally permissible with reasonable effort. We do not subsequently delete data stored in backups.
For further information on the handling of stored data, please refer to the BENECURA Privacy Policy.
5 Special Conditions relating to BENECURA Services
5.1 User profile
After successful registration and request, BENECURA automatically displays your master data (including your first name, surname, insured person no., address, date of birth, gender, social security no., e‑mail, telephone no.) as well as your insurance cover with SWICA and the associated information (hereinafter referred to as “profile data”) in the “Profile” feature. The profile data is taken from SWICA’s insurance administration system and updated automatically. You cannot edit the profile data in BENECURA.
Your profile data is used in BENECURA’s services to enable individual recommendations to be made to you and is usedin the “Care Provider” feature so that the provisions of their basic insurance model (e.g. general practitioner, list of doctors) can be taken into account.
5.2 General information about BENECURA’s services
BENECURA includes the services SymptomCheck, PreventionCheck, Health Dossier, Important numbers, Care Provider, Medication and Lexicon. Third-party services are specified in Section 5.3 with reference to the respective applicable GTC. For a description of the services, please refer to the “Instructions for Use” in Clause 2.
We reserve the right to change or discontinue BENECURA at any time without notice. There is no entitlement to continued use of BENECURA or individual features at any time.
5.3 Third-party services
5.3.1 General
BENECURA provides certain third-party services. Third-party providers are either integrated into BENECURA or BENECURA refers users to third-party offers outside of BENECURA. In terms of offers from third-party providers, these third parties alone are responsible for the content they provide; BENECURA merely establishes the technical connection to these offers.
The general terms and conditions as well as privacy policies of the respective third-party providers apply to the services of third-party providers.
5.3.2 Medication
The “Medication” service allows you to search for medication. You will then be provided with further information on medication. The medication search service mymedi® is provided by HMG GmbH. HMG GmbH (hereinafter referred to as “HMG”) is solely responsible for the information provided as well as for the data processing for the medication search.
mymedi – Medikamentenplattform
c/o HMG
Healthcare Management Group
Postfach 355
CH-4410 Liestal
CH-280.4.000.121–9
E‑mail: info@hmg.ch
www.mymedi.ch
Accordingly, in addition to these GTC, the provisions of HMG shall apply:
https://www.mymedi.ch/ueber-uns/impressum/
5.3.3 Lexicon
With the “Lexicon” service, BENECURA provides the user with a medical dictionary as a reference work for diseases according to clinical pictures. The dictionary supports searches by subject area or in alphabetical order. The dictionary is purely a reference work and does not support diagnosis and should be seen as an independent module which is available within BENECURA. The content of the dictionary is provided by Mediscope AG (hereinafter referred to as “Mediscope”). Mediscope is solely responsible for the content in the medical dictionary.
Mediscope AG
Sägeweg 14
CH-3250 Lyss
CH-020.3.019.802–3
E‑Mail: info@mediscope.ch
www.sprechzimmer.ch
Accordingly, in addition to these GTC, Mediscope’s GTC and Mediscope’s Privacy Policy shall apply:
https://www.sprechzimmer.ch/Disclaimer/ https://www.sprechzimmer.ch/Datenschutzerklaerung_Privacy_Policy/
5.3.4 SWICA Online Services
If you switch from BENECURA to SWICA Online Services (e.g. TytoHome), you will leave the BENECURA environment. SWICA Online Services cannot be used as a function within BENECURA.
6 Intellectual property
All intellectual property rights to the content of BENECURA remain with the owners of the respective rights. Any disclosure, reproduction, modification or publication of BENECURA content without the prior consent of SWICA and Helmedica is prohibited.
7 Warranty and liability
We take all reasonable technical and organisational measures to ensure the proper operation of BENECURA, but we cannot guarantee that BENECURA will be available at all times and without error. In particular, there may be temporary interruptions due to maintenance work. We are not liable for any damage which occurs to the user in such cases.
BENECURA is provided for information purposes only. All content is provided “as is” without warranty, guarantee or promise of any kind. Use of the information provided by BENECURA and compliance with the recommendations received are at the user’s own risk and peril. To the extent permitted by law, we disclaim all liability for any harm incurred by the user in connection with the use of BENECURA, in particular in the event of incorrect or incomplete information. This includes, in particular, harm due to the use of information as well as harm due to transmission errors, technical defects, interruptions, malfunctions or unlawful acts by third parties.
The details published in the “Care Provider” feature are for information purposes only and do not imply any approval of the care providers or assumption of costs by Helmedica or SWICA. SWICA must always be contacted if you wish to make a definitive request for the costs to be covered (the contact details can be found on your insurance policy). Helmedica and SWICA assume no liability whatsoever with regard to the completeness, up-to-dateness or professional competence of the care providers listed.
The information in the “Lexicon” and “Medication” features is managed and provided by third parties. We have carefully selected the providers, but accept no liability or guarantee for the published information, its accuracy or completeness. The content provided is not suitable for making independent diagnoses. The “Important numbers” feature also contains public telephone numbers for which we cannot accept any liability or guarantee.
We shall also not be liable if the use of BENECURA is temporarily interrupted, wholly or partially restricted or rendered impossible due to force majeure or third-party fault. In particular, power failure and contamination with harmful software (e.g. virus attack) as well as natural events of particular intensity (earthquakes, avalanches, floods, landslides, etc.), warlike events, riots, unforeseeable official restrictions, etc. shall also be considered as force majeure.
8 Fees
In principle, BENECURA is available free of charge. However, Helmedica and SWICA reserve the right to introduce charges for BENECURA or to change existing charges at any time. In such cases, new GTC will be submitted to you for acceptance in accordance with section 1.2.
When using online services, network operator charges for transmission, data and roaming may be incurred, for which the user is solely responsible. This must be taken into account in particular when large volumes of data are transmitted in connection with BENECURA.
9 Applicable law and place of jurisdiction
All legal relationships of the user shall be governed by Swiss law, excluding any conflict of law provisions and excluding the provisions of the Vienna Sales Convention (CISG). The place of jurisdiction for all proceedings is Winterthur, unless mandatory Swiss law provides otherwise.
10 Final provisions
Should individual provisions of these GTC be or become invalid, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. Any ancillary agreements or arrangements between the user and Helmedica must be made in writing. The place of performance is Winterthur.
Privacy Policy for SWICA BENECURA
Version: 25 July 2023
1 General
SWICA BENECURA (“BENECURA”) is a mobile application with various features relating to health and your personal medical history. Registered users can access different services concerning medical matters. The company
SWICA Management AG
Römerstrasse 38
8400 Winterthur
swica@swica.ch / +41 52 244 22 33
(hereinafter referred to as “SWICA” or “we”) processes personal data relating to you or other persons in different ways and for different purposes. This Privacy Policy applies to all individuals whose data we, as the data controller, use in connection with BENECURA. As the data controller, we are responsible for data protection unless other information is provided during the use of BENECURA.
BENECURA is intended exclusively for persons who have health insurance with SWICA group companies in Switzerland. This Privacy Policy is therefore based on the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (“FADP”).
This Privacy Policy, together with the General Terms and Conditions for the use of BENECURA, forms the basis for the processing of personal data which we collect from you or which you provide to us. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand what data we collect about you, the circumstances under which we share this data with third parties and your rights in relation to your data.
2 Data protection and data processing
2.1 Data categories
In connection with the use of BENECURA, we process different data from different sources depending on the purpose. With your call, your profile data is taken directly from the insurance administration system of the SWICA group companies and updated automatically. You cannot edit the profile data in BENECURA yourself. We generally receive further information directly from you, e.g. through your registration with BENECURA or through your use of features which are made available via BENECURA. This data falls into the following categories:
- Profile data:
- First name, last name, gender, date of birth
- Address, telephone, e‑mail
- Social security number
- Health insurance, insured person number, insurance EAN, insurance product, insurance model
- More data:
- General practitioner (GP)
- Health data (e.g. treatment recommendations, photos, other medical documents)
Furthermore, we collect technical data, namely log files on the type and time of access to BENECURA content, IP address, device ID and other technical information on your end device’s settings, which make the data entry and data processing in BENECURA traceable and contribute to the security of the user. The technical data in itself does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about your identity. However, during your registration for and use of BENECURA, the data may be linked to other categories of data.
2.2 Purposes of data processing
We process your data for the following purposes:
- To fulfil the contract for the use of BENECURA and the provision and maintenance of the content and services of BENECURA.
- To provide you with access to BENECURA, to communicate with you about your use of BENECURA, to respond to your enquiries and for other customer service purposes.
- To collect and process health data entered by you, including photographs, and to maintain a patient record.
- To research and develop new products and features, to the extent permitted by law and, if necessary, with your consent.
- To better understand how you access and use BENECURA, both on an aggregate and individual basis, to improve BENECURA and to respond to your requests and preferences, and for other analytical purposes.
- To tailor the content and information we send or display to you, to provide personalised help and instructions, and to otherwise personalise your experience when using BENECURA.
- To comply with legal and regulatory obligations and responsibilities, in the course of our general business and for other business administration purposes.
- If we deem it necessary to investigate, prevent, or take legal action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the safety of any person, or violations of our Terms of Use or this Privacy Policy.
For evidential purposes and to fulfil the necessary due diligence, BENECURA will keep a log of all your questions and answers as well as any recommendations, if you have completed the service to the end and received a recommendation. Logging also takes place even if you have not given your consent for the information concerned to be added to your patient record and even if you have not saved the information concerned in the “History/Dossier”.
If we ask you to consent to the further processing of your data, we will inform you separately in each case about the corresponding purposes of processing. You can withdraw your consent (our contact details can be found in section 1 “General”).
2.3 Passing on the data
SWICA makes BENECURA available on the market, but is neither the manufacturer nor the operator of BENECURA. SWICA uses the services of the following third parties directly or indirectly for this purpose:
- Helmedica AG, Technopark Winterthur, Technoparkstrasse 2, CH-8406 Winterthur (“Helmedica”) is the manufacturer of BENECURA on behalf of SWICA. Helmedica is legally obliged and responsible for monitoring the product and the market and may contact you in this regard to ask you about your experiences when using BENECURA. This ensures that BENECURA meets the performance and security requirements placed on the application and that it does not pose any danger to the user. Your participation in such a survey is voluntary.
- BENECURA is operated by AD Swiss Net AG, Steinackerstrasse 35, 8902 Urdorf (“AD Swiss”).
- The infrastructure for the back end is provided by the high security data centre Aspectra AG, Weberstrasse 4, 8004 Zurich (“Aspectra”).
- The services of Health Info Net AG, Seidenstrasse 4, 8304 Wallisellen (“HIN”) are used for secure e‑mail traffic.
Helmedica, AD Swiss, Aspectra and HIN are contractually and/or legally obliged to keep your data confidential. Their services are provided exclusively in Switzerland.
We may also transfer your data to other third parties, in particular to the following categories of recipients:
- Authorities: We may disclose personal data to offices, courts and other authorities if we are legally obliged or entitled to do so or if this appears necessary to protect our interests. This data may also include health data. The authorities process data about you which they receive from us under their own responsibility.
- Analysis service providers: At BENECURA, we use third-party services to help us measure and improve user experience. We can integrate third-party components into BENECURA for this purpose. Such third-party providers may also be located outside Switzerland and the EU/EEA, provided that the protection of your personal data is adequately ensured. The laws in these countries do not always guarantee an adequate level of data protection according to the standards of Swiss law. We therefore take contractual precautions to ensure adequate data protection, in particular by means of the standard contractual clauses recognised by the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC).
- Other persons: In the course of business development, we may sell or acquire businesses, operations, assets or companies, or enter into partnerships, which may also result in the disclosure of data to the persons involved in these transactions. All these categories of recipient may in turn commission the services of third parties, meaning that your data may also become accessible to these third parties.
2.4 Transmission of the data
2.4.1 Release and transmission of data to the santé24 health advice service
The santé24 health advice service is an operating unit of SWICA. The santé24 health advice service has no access to the data entered by the user as long as the user has not initiated the transmission of the data. Release for inspection by santé24 can only be effected by the user personally.
If the user selects the feature “Data release to the santé24 health advice service/send survey”, the entries made, i.e. the questions and answers from the service used, as well as the recommendations received will be made available to the santé24 health advice service. When the user calls the santé24 health advice line, this provides the healthcare professionals with important information which is helpful when assessing the medical problem or discussing the recommendation received.
The santé24 health advice service will not contact you independently following the use of the service – not even if data has been released to the santé24 health advice service. It is always the user’s personal responsibility to follow up on a recommendation or to make the call to the santé24 health advice service. The santé24 health advice service only accesses the data when the user calls the service.
The data from the services released by the user to the santé24 health advice service and the outcome of the telephone call are recorded by the santé24 health advice service in a patient record. All data and entries in the patient record are subject to medical confidentiality pursuant to Art. 321 of the Swiss Criminal Code (StGB). The general duties of care which must be applied to medical services apply to the storage and maintenance of the patient record. The release of data to the santé24 health advice service can also be effected retroactively in the “History” feature. However, the release cannot be revoked.
2.4.2 Transmission of data to GPs
The user can send data from a service they have used via an encrypted e‑mail to doctors recorded in the list of doctors. If the user selects the “Send by E‑mail” feature, the result of the service used or the document from the “Health Dossier” will be sent to the GP selected by the user via encrypted e‑mail (HIN). This provides the GP with important information which can be helpful when assessing the medical problem or discussing the recommendation received. This is only possible if the GP is an HIN participant.
It is the user’s responsibility to make an appointment with the GP.
2.5 Data storage in the History/Dossier
If the user selects the “Data storage“feature in a service , the data will be storedwithin BENECURA in the “History/Dossier” feature or in the “Health Dossier”. This gives the user a personal overview at all times of the information and recommendations received and of the history of their medical incidents.
The data from a service used is read-only. This means that the user can no longer change the entries made after the data has been stored. However, the data may be deleted from the user’s end device at any time.
For evidential purposes and to comply with the associated due diligence, the data entered by the user in the services will not be deleted in the back end of BENECURA until the expiry of the retention period. For the same reason, data which has already been released and transferred to the santé24 health advice service cannot be withdrawn. The retention of data is based on the legal provisions or on how long the purpose justifies the retention (see section 3).
2.6 Data security measures
We take appropriate security measures to maintain the confidentiality, integrity and availability of your data, to protect it against unauthorised or unlawful processing and to protect against the risks of loss, accidental alteration, unintended disclosure or unauthorised access.
Security measures of a technical and organisational nature may include measures such as the encryption and pseudonymisation of data, logging, access restrictions, the storage of backup copies, instructions to our employees, confidentiality agreements and controls. We use suitable encryption mechanisms to protect your data which is transmitted via our app while it is in transit. But we can only secure areas which we control. We have no control over the use of public networks, e.g. the mobile network, to transmit data. We also oblige our commissioned processors to take appropriate security measures.
3 Retention periods
We store and process your personal data for as long as is necessary for the purpose of processing, for as long as we have a legitimate interest in storing it (e.g. to enforce legal claims, for archiving and/or to ensure IT security) and for as long as data is subject to a statutory retention obligation. If there are no legal or contractual obligations to the contrary, we will destroy or anonymise your data after the storage or processing period has expired as part of our normal processes.
4 User rights
To help you control the processing of your personal data, you have the following rights in connection with our data processing:
- Right of access: You have the right to request certain information about our processing of your personal data and a copy of your personal data.
- Rectification: You can request that we rectify or complete incorrect or incomplete data if, for example, it is inaccurate. You can also access and update your data yourself using your access to BENECURA.
- Deletion: You have the right to request the deletion or anonymisation of data.
- Objection and revocation: You can object to our processing of your data for certain purposes (e.g. processing for marketing purposes). You have the right to revoke consent with effect for the future, insofar as processing is based on consent.
- Transmission: You have the right to receive personal data which you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format or to have it transferred to a third party, insofar as the corresponding data processing is based on your consent or is necessary for the performance of the contract.
Please note that SWICA may request additional information from you to verify your identity before we disclose any personal or account information. Your rights are subject to legal requirements and restrictions and can therefore not be made use of in full in every case. In particular, we may need to process and store your personal data in order to fulfil a contract with you, to protect our own legitimate interests, such as the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, or to comply with legal obligations.
You are also free to lodge a complaint with a competent supervisory authority if you have concerns about whether the processing of your personal data complies with the law. The competent supervisory authority in Switzerland is the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC).
5 Contact
If you have any questions about our privacy practices, please contact us at datenschutz@swica.ch or at the following address:
SWICA Management AG
Datenschutz
Römerstrasse 38
8400 Winterthur
Instructions for use for SWICA BENECURA
Version: 25 July 2023
1 Important user information
Before using SWICA BENECURA (hereinafter referred to as “BENECURA”), we recommend that you carefully read the following instructions for use, warnings and instructions, product-specific information, the BENECURA General Terms and Conditions and the BENECURA Privacy Policy. Helmedica AG is not responsible for complications arising from the use of BENECURA outside the intended area of application or from failure to observe these instructions for use.
BENECURA was developed and placed on the market as a class IIa medical device by Helmedica AG (hereinafter referred to as “Helmedica”, “we”, “our” or “us”). BENECURA is commissioned by SWICA Management AG (acting for all group companies of the SWICA healthcare organisation, in particular SWICA Versicherungen AG, SWICA Krankenversicherung AG, PROVITA Gesundheitsversicherung AG, hereinafter collectively referred to as “SWICA”). SWICA acts as an intermediary for Helmedica during commissioning.
2 Product description
BENECURA offers initial support with health and medical issues without presupposing medical expertise. Ultimately, BENECURA is not a full substitute for the advice of a medical professional. The following services are available to users of BENECURA:
- SymptomCheck (Ready for doctor): The “SymptomCheck” feature, which was developed by a committee of medical experts , supports you by providing recommendations for further action in the event of health complaints or illness. This requires you to correctly answer questions and correctly enter data for the medical problem you have specifically entered. Use of the information provided and compliance with the recommendations received are at your own risk. In the event of a medical emergency, a doctor or the emergency services must be contacted immediately. The user is responsible for contacting the doctor or the emergency services. The “SymptomCheck” is supervised and continuously expanded by a committee of medical experts, taking into account current medical guidelines.
- Health Dossier (history, preventive care, history of other persons, documents, reminders): All information and recommendations received from the “SymptomCheck” and other services are presented in the Health Dossier. The contents of the Health Dossier can be transmitted by encrypted e‑mail to doctors on the list of doctors and can be shared with doctors and medical institutions.
- Photo Medicaments: With the “Photo Medicaments” feature, you can photograph packs of the medication you take for your Health Dossier, categorise them and access them at any time.
- PreventionCheck: In “PreventionCheck” you will receive personalised preventive care recommendations based on your individual medical history, age, gender and risk factors for your health. You are responsible for answering a series of questions completely and correctly in order for the app to be able to make a recommendation which applies to you.
- Send Photo: With the “Send Photo” feature, you can securely send photos of skin findings, laboratory and doctors’ reports or other medical documents to the Swiss telemedicine provider santé24.
- TytoHome: “TytoHome” is a telemedicine device which allows you to perform medical examinations yourself, regardless of location. “TytoHome” is accessed via BENECURA, but is a stand-alone device which must be ordered separately.
- Important numbers: Under “Important numbers” you will find central telephone numbers for emergencies and medical advice. Depending on your network operator, your location and the phone number you choose, you may incur additional charges. Costs arising from any telephone calls are to be borne by the user.
- Care Provider: The “Care Provider” feature provides you with contacts to doctors, therapists, hospitals and pharmacies. In doing so, the personal data on file from your user profile can be used to take into account the provisions of your basic insurance model (e.g. GP, list of doctors).
- Medication: The “Medication” service allows you to search for medication. You will then be provided with further information on medication. The medication search service mymedi® is provided by HMG GmbH.
- Lexicon: The scientifically based medical dictionary provides an overview of various diseases with a wealth of information. The content is provided by Mediscope AG. Mediscope is responsible for the content in the dictionary.
3 Indications
BENECURA is intended to offer initial support with health and medical issues for users without medical expertise. BENECURA is not limited to one indication. The following symptoms in particular are indications for the use of BENECURA:
Allergies (e.g. hay fever, pollen allergy), respiratory problems, abnormal skin findings such as moles, spots, rashes on the body, complaints involving eyes, arms, legs, intestines, throat, stomach, mouth, nasal cavities and sinuses, nails (cracked, discoloured, thickened), ears, bites or scratches from animals (e.g. dogs, cats, ticks) or humans, bladder infections and urinary tract infections, high blood pressure and resulting complaints, blood in the urine, cold and flu symptoms, urge to urinate without urination, coughing, insect bites and stings (e.g. from bees, midges, mosquitoes, wasps and ticks), itching on the body (e.g. suspected head lice), headache (e.g. pressure in the head, migraine), fungal infection on feet or nails, emergency contraception, psychological complaints (e.g. feeling of being overworked, despair, mood swings, sadness, burnout, depression, suicidal thoughts), reddening of the skin after spending time in the sun (sunburn), pain (e.g. arm, abdomen, chest, shoulder, back, when urinating), swelling of the lymph nodes, dizziness or vertigo, sunstroke, heatstroke, electric shock, sleep disorders, daytime sleepiness, injuries such as cuts, lacerations or bruises, sprains (e.g. ankle).
4 Contraindication
If the initiation of a medical therapy is recommended by BENECURA (e.g. taking a painkiller), this is referred to as a treatment recommendation. Before issuing such a treatment recommendation, BENECURA will ask about the general contraindications and surrounding circumstances for the treatment recommendation (e.g. allergies, pregnancy).
In the case of severe symptom complexes or psychological disorders, direct referral to a medical service is provided.
5 Warnings
BENECURA is intended for independent use by users aged 18 or over. The features provided by the “SymptomCheck” module can also be accessed by the user on behalf of registered third parties aged 16 or over. Care must be taken to ensure that the features of BENECURA are used exclusively for the user’s own use or for correctly registered third parties.
Failure to observe the age restriction may result in incorrect recommendations for action. Incorrect recommendations for action can also occur if personal data, such as age or gender, are recorded incorrectly, or if BENECURA is used for third parties who have not been registered.
6 Precautions
- Only use BENECURA for yourself or correctly registered third parties.
- Do not use BENECURA for third parties who are not registered.
- If you use BENECURA for third parties, make sure that the third party is not below the minimum age and that the third party has been correctly registered in BENECURA.
- Check the personal data stored, such as age and gender, before using BENECURA, as the information from the personal profile (e.g. age, gender) is taken into account when BENECURA selects recommendations for action.
- Always answer the questions within BENECURA truthfully.
- Follow BENECURA’s recommendations for action.
- Contact healthcare professionals if you feel unsure or if there is a deterioration in your or the third party’s health.
- In case of medical emergency, contact a doctor or the emergency services immediately.
7 Information on the use of BENECURA and residual risks
BENECURA’s recommendations for action are based on the underlying personal data and the questions answered by the user. The quality of the recommendations for action provided by BENECURA is determined by the correctness of the answers.
In the event of non-compliance with BENECURA’s recommendations for action, you may put your health or the health of the third party concerned at risk. We therefore strongly recommend that you follow BENECURA’s instructions and contact a doctor or the emergency services immediately in the event of a medical emergency.
8 Disclaimer
To the extent permitted by law, we disclaim all liability for any harm incurred by the user in connection with the use of BENECURA, in particular in the event of incorrect or incomplete information. This includes, in particular, harm due to the use of information as well as harm due to transmission errors, technical defects, interruptions, malfunctions or unlawful acts by third parties.