Healthcare professionals: referring a patient

This page is for GPs (family doctors), specialists and other healthcare professionals who would like the Centre’s opinion on a patient.

When to ask for an opinion

• a BMI of 35 or more, or a severe weight-related complication: this is the benchmark used in the Swiss recommendations for referral to a specialist centre¹;
• a question about medicines for obesity (indication, continuation, stopping);
• a question about obesity surgery, whether or not the criteria seem to you to be met;
• a person who has already had surgery and is no longer followed up, is regaining weight, has digestive symptoms or deficiencies, or is planning a pregnancy.

How to refer a patient

Refer your patient to us as soon as you would like an opinion, without waiting to carry out a specific obesity work-up. A first assessment at the Centre makes it possible to define the useful investigations and to organise them according to the patient’s situation. This coordination avoids investigations that are redundant or of little relevance to the planned care pathway.

1. Write your usual letter or fill in the referral form.
2. Send it by post, by email to centre@obesite.ch, or give it to your patient to bring to the consultation.
3. The appointments team arranges the first appointment with the patient. For any questions, the team can be reached on +41 22 990 33 11.

Your letter, the reason for referral and the clinical information available are enough to start the care pathway. Enclose any investigations already carried out if they are relevant; no new investigation is required to refer the patient to us.

After the consultation, a report is always sent to you. The form on this website is only for getting in touch: do not attach any medical documents to it.

Useful information, if available

• the reason for referral, weight, height and known weight history;
• treatments already tried and their duration (dietary, physical activity, psychological support, medicines);
• associated conditions and current treatments;
• in case of previous surgery: the type of operation, its date and the operation report.

The duration of treatments already tried matters: basic (compulsory) health insurance requires two years of adequate treatment before surgery, with periods added together^{2, 3}.

Follow-up at the Centre counts towards these two years: coming to the Centre does not reset the clock. Documenting the treatments already followed helps check the reimbursement condition; a personal effort is not automatically sufficient.

Contact details of the Centre

• Telephone+41 22 990 33 11
• Emailcentre@obesite.ch
• AddressChemin de Monastier 15
  Le Corjon building, 3rd floor
  1260 Nyon · Switzerland

Useful reference points

When an operation requires a specialist referral centre, we organise your patient’s care in Geneva (HUG, Geneva University Hospitals), Lausanne or Neuchâtel, depending on the situation. Wherever possible, and with the agreement of the host centre, Dr Pierre Fournier performs the operation there himself.

• Criteria for obesity surgery in Switzerland
• Medication
• Follow-up after surgery

Medical review of the French version: Dr Pierre Fournier

Scientific sources and references

Sources accessed on 12 October 2026. Reimbursement rules and information on medicines change over time.

1. Gerber PA, Collet TH, Favre L, et al. Swiss obesity clinical practice guidance. Swiss Med Wkly. 2026;156:5415. View source
2. Office fédéral de la santé publique (OFSP). Annexe 1 de l’ordonnance sur les prestations de l’assurance des soins (OPAS), edition of 1 July 2026: chapters 1.1 and 2.1. View source
3. Swiss Society for the Study of Morbid Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (SMOB). Directives pour le traitement chirurgical de l’obésité, in force from 1 July 2023 (in French). View source