Aerztegesellschaft des Kantons Bern

What Aerztegesellschaft des Kantons Bern does

Aerztegesellschaft des Kantons Bern (BEKAG), founded in 1809 and headquartered at Amthausgasse 28 in Bern, Switzerland, is the official professional organization ("Berufsorganisation") for physicians practicing in the Canton of Bern. With a small staff of 6 employees and operating as a non-profit membership association (also known by its French name, Société des Médecins du Canton de Berne), BEKAG represents Bernese physicians in cantonal health policy, negotiates cantonal tariff agreements tied to the national TARDOC and EFAS frameworks through FMH and OAAT AG, and provides practice support services such as admission/authorization assistance, emergency service coordination, the Praxisassistenz program, ombudsman mediation, and salary guidance for Medical Practice Assistants (MPAs).

The association's core products are member services and publications rather than technology products. The flagship is doc.be, a bilingual membership magazine published six times annually in February, April, June, August, October, and December, with a circulation of approximately 4,150 German and 265 French copies. Other recurring outputs include email newsletters, annual reports (Jahresberichte), press releases (Medienmitteilungen), policy consultation submissions (Vernehmlassungen), advocacy campaigns (Kampagnen), and the biennial BEKAG-Versorgungsumfrage (healthcare supply survey). Underlying technology is limited to a TYPO3-based website hosted by Internetgalerie AG in Thun; no proprietary software, mobile app, API, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed.

BEKAG's business model is membership-fee based, with physicians in Canton Bern paying annual dues to access representation, publications, and practice support. It is governed by a co-presidium (Dr. med. Esther Hilfiker and Dr. med. Rainer Felber as of 2024) and a Vorstand (board), and is structurally embedded in the Swiss physician-association ecosystem via FMH (the national umbrella) and VEDAG (the German-speaking cantonal societies' umbrella), giving it a defined role in tariff negotiations, workforce studies with BIHAM, and cantonal policy consultation processes.

Name

Aerztegesellschaft des Kantons Bern

Legal name

Aerztegesellschaft des Kantons Bern

Website

https://berner-aerzte.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1809

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

BEKAG is the official cantonal professional association for physicians in Canton Bern, Switzerland, founded in 1809. It provides political representation, tariff negotiation support, ombudsman services, and member publications such as doc.be, funded by annual physician membership fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bern

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Aerztegesellschaft des Kantons Bern (BEKAG) is a professional medical association for physicians practicing in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland. It provides professional representation in cantonal health policy, negotiates tariff contracts (TARDOC, EFAS), publishes the doc.be magazine and other publications, operates an ombudsman service for dispute mediation, and offers member services including authorization support, practice assistance programs, and continuing education resources.

Product overview

Aerztegesellschaft des Kantons Bern (BEKAG) is a professional medical association for physicians in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland. Rather than a technology product company, it offers a portfolio of member services and publications including: doc.be (the official bilingual magazine published 6 times annually), newsletters for healthcare updates, the biennial BEKAG-Versorgungsumfrage (healthcare supply survey), policy consultation responses (Vernehmlassungen), press releases (Medienmitteilungen), annual reports (Jahresberichte), campaigns (Kampagnen), and historical commemorative publications. The association also provides member services such as authorization support, emergency service coordination, practice assistant programs, and medical data transmission services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• doc.be: Official publication of the Aerztegesellschaft des Kantons Bern, published six times per year in a bilingual edition with 4,150 German and 265 French copies.

Products and services

• Mitgliedschaft (Membership) Professional organization membership for physicians working in the Canton of Bern, including admission/authorization support, emergency service coordination, practice assistant programs, ombudsman mediation services, and data transmission services. Members access the association's advocacy, publications, and representation in cantonal health policy and tariff negotiations.
• doc.be Official bilingual information journal of the Aerztegesellschaft des Kantons Bern for its members, published 6 times annually in February, April, June, August, October, and December, covering healthcare policy developments, association activities, and professional matters for Bernese physicians.
• BEKAG-Versorgungsumfrage Biennial healthcare supply survey conducted by BEKAG to monitor medical care access and physician availability across the Canton of Bern, providing data-driven insights into regional healthcare provision.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FMH (Foederatio Medicorum Helveticorum / Swiss Medical Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFMH is the national umbrella organization for Swiss physicians. BEKAG works with FMH on national healthcare policy, tariff negotiations (TARDOC, EFAS), and represents Bernese physician interests at the federal level. Dr. med. Yvonne Gilli, President of FMH, gave a keynote at the BEKAG Spring Delegates' Assembly.
• VEDAG (Verband deutschschweizerischer Ärztegesellschaften)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVEDAG is the association of German-speaking Swiss physician societies. BEKAG is a member society of this umbrella organization and participates in joint healthcare policy initiatives, including the publication 'Politik+Patient'.
• OAAT AG (Organisation ambulante Arzttarife AG)coreTechnology or IntegrationOAAT AG plays a key role in replacing the outdated TARMED tariff structure. The organization handles the new TARDOC and outpatient flat-rate system implementation, working with FMH and cantonal societies including BEKAG for rollout.
• BIHAM (Bernisches Institut für Hausarztmedizin)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBern Institute for Family Medicine. BEKAG collaborates with BIHAM on studies such as the MPK study on diabetes care coordination and workforce studies analyzing general practitioner and pediatrician availability in Bernese regions.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Ärztegesellschaft des Kantons Zürich: Cantonal physician society for Canton Zurich. Direct structural peer to BEKAG — same function (cantonal-level physician representation, tariff negotiation, publications, ombudsstelle) in an adjacent geography.
• British Medical Association (BMA): National trade union and professional association for UK physicians. Closest international analog to BEKAG's combined advocacy-and-member-services model, including tariff/contract negotiation and publications.
• VEDAG (Verband deutschschweizerischer Ärztegesellschaften): Umbrella of German-speaking Swiss cantonal physician societies (including BEKAG). Operates the joint health-policy publication 'Politik+Patient'. Functionally equivalent to a federation of BEKAG and other cantonal peers.
• Association des Médecins du Canton de Genève (AMGe): Cantonal physician association for Geneva. Direct BEKAG analog — cantonal-level membership organization representing physicians in tariff negotiations, professional advocacy, and member services in another Swiss canton.
• mfe Haus- und Kinderärzte Schweiz: Swiss professional association for family and pediatric physicians. Directly overlapping physician membership base, with similar advocacy for primary care in Swiss health policy — including TARDOC communications alongside BEKAG.
• VSAO (Verband Schweizerischer Assistenz- und Oberärztinnen und -ärzte): Swiss association of assistant and senior physicians. Comparable membership-association model for Swiss physicians, with overlapping policy advocacy on tariffs and working conditions. Co-signatory on TARDOC communications alongside BEKAG.
• Société Vaudoise de Médecine: Cantonal physician association for Canton Vaud. Equivalent membership-association model for physicians in another French-speaking Swiss canton. Performs identical cantonal tariff, advocacy, and member-service functions as BEKAG.
• SGAIM (Swiss Society of General Internal Medicine): Swiss specialty society representing general internal medicine specialists. Comparable physician-membership model with national advocacy and CME offerings; co-signatory alongside BEKAG on TARDOC-related communications.
• Medizinische Gesellschaft Basel: Cantonal-level medical society serving physicians in Basel. Closely comparable to BEKAG's structure and service portfolio for a different Swiss canton.

Broad incumbents

• Foederatio Medicorum Helveticorum (FMH): National umbrella organization for Swiss physicians. BEKAG is a constituent cantonal society of FMH and coordinates national policy (TARDOC, EFAS) and physician-search directories through it. Directly comparable as a physician membership association with similar member-services model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/berneraerzte

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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