Time window: Under 72 hours. Ideally under 24. Every hour counts. Cost: Covered by LAMal insurance — subject to your franchise and copayment rules.

For the full clinical picture — what PEP is, how it works, and who it's appropriate for — see PEP: The Emergency Protocol first.

Where to Go

Go to the emergency department (Urgences in French, Notfall/Notaufnahme in German) of the nearest university hospital. University hospitals have on-call infectious disease teams who can assess and initiate PEP immediately, including outside normal hours.

Zürich: USZ — Universitätsspital Zürich, Rämistrasse 100, 8091 Zürich The emergency department is open 24/7. Tell triage: "Ich hatte ein HIV-Risiko und brauche PEP."

Geneva: HUG — Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, 1205 Genève Tell triage: "J'ai eu un risque HIV et j'ai besoin d'une prophylaxie post-exposition."

Lausanne: CHUV — Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Rue du Bugnon 46, 1011 Lausanne Same phrase as Geneva.

Bern: Inselspital — Universitätsspital Bern, Freiburgstrasse 18, 3010 Bern Tell triage: "Ich hatte ein HIV-Risiko und brauche PEP."

Basel: Universitätsspital Basel (USB), Petersgraben 4, 4031 Basel

For other cities and regions: Go to the nearest cantonal or regional hospital with an emergency department. All major hospitals carry PEP medication. If in doubt, call the medical emergency line first (see below).

What to Say at Triage

Be specific. Don't minimise. This is a medical emergency and you need to communicate urgency clearly.

German: "Ich hatte vor [X] Stunden eine sexuelle Hochrisiko-Exposition für HIV und brauche Post-Expositionsprophylaxe." (I had a high-risk sexual HIV exposure [X] hours ago and need post-exposure prophylaxis.)

French: "J'ai eu une exposition sexuelle à haut risque pour le VIH il y a [X] heures et j'ai besoin d'une prophylaxie post-exposition."

Italian (Ticino): "Ho avuto un'esposizione sessuale ad alto rischio per l'HIV [X] ore fa e ho bisogno della profilassi post-esposizione."

Give clinical context if you have it: was your partner HIV-positive or unknown status? What type of exposure (receptive anal sex without a condom is the highest-risk route)? The more specific you are, the faster the assessment.

The Insurance Question

This is where Switzerland's system gets complicated. How PEP is classified by your insurance matters:

Classified as "Accident" (Unfall/accident): If your employer or a separate accident insurer covers the event — for example if a condom broke and it can be classified as a mechanical failure — some insurers have accepted this as an accident claim. Accident insurance typically has a lower or zero deductible for emergency care. This is genuinely worth raising: "Kann dies als Unfall eingestuft werden?" (Can this be classified as an accident?). The hospital team will often classify it as illness by default — the accident argument is worth trying but not guaranteed.

Classified as "Illness" (Krankheit/maladie): The standard classification. Your full LAMal franchise applies. If your franchise is 2,500 CHF and you haven't met it, you will receive a significant bill — potentially the full cost of the PEP prescription and emergency consultation, which can run to several hundred CHF.

Do not let cost considerations delay you. The bill can be managed, disputed, or paid in installments. HIV cannot be undone after 72 hours. Go immediately.

EU/EEA visitors with EHIC: Switzerland has bilateral health agreements with EU countries. EHIC may cover emergency care, but the details vary by country of origin — present your card and the hospital will verify coverage. You will likely still face some cost.

Non-residents without coverage: You will be treated. Bill management can be addressed after the fact. Go.

The Process

Starter pack: The emergency team will typically provide the first few days of PEP medication before you leave the hospital.

Follow-up: You must book a follow-up with an infectious disease specialist — either at the hospital outpatient clinic or through a SwissPrEPared Checkpoint — to complete the full 28-day course, confirm the prescription, and begin follow-up HIV testing.

After PEP: Consider PrEP. If you need PEP more than once, or you're regularly in situations that carry HIV risk, PrEP is the appropriate prevention tool. See PrEP in Switzerland: SwissPrEPared.

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