Campaigners said they collected more than 200,000 signatures in five months – twice as much as necessary – to force the vote.
More than 3,000 new GPs are needed by 2016 to ensure basic healthcare services for the country, according to the promoters of the initiative.
No date for the vote has been set.
There is growing dissatisfaction in the profession about long working hours, the high amount of administration and lower pay compared with specialist doctors.
GPs make up about 30 per cent of doctors in Switzerland but most of them are nearing retirement age.
A year ago, an estimated 15,000 doctors took to the streets to fight a plan by the interior ministry to lower laboratory fees.
Attempts by parliament and the government to reduce spiraling costs in past two decades have had limited impact.
Switzerland has one of the best but also most expensive healthcare systems in the world.
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Doctors hit the streets over lab fee plan
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In the capital, Bern, around 1,500 doctors and medical professionals gathered to deliver a protest letter to Interior Minister Pascal Couchepin, who also holds the health portfolio. In Basel, around 600 people demonstrated. Other marches and demonstrations also unfolded across the country as the day progressed. The Swiss General Medicine Society had called for the…
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It followed the House or Representatives on Thursday and voted on the extension by a margin of 23 for versus eight against. General practitioners are excluded from the ban. Politicians recognised it was a temporary solution to an issue that has pitted doctors against health insurers, who want lower costs. Parliament has been trying to…
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With many GPs approaching retirement, concerns are high that there are not enough young doctors to replace them. GPs also want more of a say in health policy. The demonstration, the first of its kind by doctors in Switzerland, was organised by five professional associations. “It’s important that politicians and the health insurances, but also…
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Alternative medicine offers a broad selection of therapies and treatments. Homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine and holistic anthroposophical methods have developed therapies often used by patients in addition to conventional medicine.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.