Institute of Primary Health Care

Uni Mittelstrasse Bern

The Institute is committed to training and promoting the next generation of family doctors, researchers, other professionals, and teachers in primary care. It generates the academic foundations and prerequisites for modern, integratively networked, and patient-oriented primary care.

To the Institute's website

Director

Prof. Nicolas Rodondi

Profile

  • Research in primary health care, epidemiology, public health, and biostatistics
  • Promote evidence-based, high-value, safe, and patient-centered health care
  • Training the next generation of primary care physicians and pharmacists and strengthening the development of primary care
  • Master’s program in Pharmacy since 2020

External Partners

Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands; Department of Medicine & Epidemiology and Biostatistics, UCSF, CA, USA; The Thyroid Studies Collaboration on 5 continents; Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia; University of Chile, Santiago, Chile; University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada; University of Oxford, UK; University of Southampton, UK; Aarhus University, Denmark; University of Galway, Ireland; University of Lausanne, Switzerland; University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy

Grants

  • STREAM, Discontinuing Statins in Multimorbid Older Adults without Cardiovascular Disease (IICT SNF)
  • ESTxENDS IICT SNSF, Swiss Cancer Research, Tobacco Prevention Found
  • BE-SAFE, Implementing a patient-centered and evidence-based intervention to reduce BEnzodiazepine and sedative hypnotic use to improve patient SAFEty and quality of care (HORIZON Europe)
  • PERSONAL, PolygEnic Risk Score to Optimize primary preveNtion in intermediAte risk popuLation (SNSF)
  • DROPIT, Deprescribing inappropriate proton-pump inhibitors in Swiss primary care settings (IICT, SNSF)
  • SCRIPT, The Safer Cannabis – Research In Pharmacies randomized controlled Trial (SNSF, Tobacco Prevention Fund)
  • OPERAM, European Union‘s HORIZON 2020 & Long Term (SNSF)
  • BATIR, Methylphenidate vs. placebo in detained people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (SNSF)
  • Spark grant for BATIR substudy, improving informed consent in detained people (SNSF)
  • Thyroid Studies Collaboration (SNSF)
  • ESPAIR, Primary suicide prevention in vulnerable adolescents (SNSF)
  • SP-EU, Social prescription in vulnerable adults (HORIZON Europe)
  • SNSF Ambizione grant “The effects of fully automated closed-loop glucose control and novel therapeutic agents on renal function in type 2 diabetes”
  • SNSF project awarded: “Evidence synthesis methods to predict personalized treatment effects”
  • The Smarter Medication Review Network (SNSF)
  • REACT, Research and Education in Ageing Collaborative Team (ENLIGHT)
  • Prospective international study of dairy and inflammation on cognitive decline (SNSF)
  • Sustainable Anti-Inflammatory Diets for Diabetes Prevention (SNSF)
  • Enlight Thematic Networks Call 2024: REACT - Research and Education in Ageing Collaborative Team

Highlights 2025

Network of antidepressant drugs. Antidepressants with direct comparisons in randomized trials are linked with a line; the thickness of connecting lines corresponds to the number of trials evaluating the comparison

The effects of antidepressants on cardiometabolic and other physiological parameters: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Our findings show frequent and heterogenous physiological side-effects across different antidepressants. The magnitude of some physiological alterations, in particular change in weight, heart rate, and blood pressure is large and clinically relevant. Given the recognised comorbid physical health burden in people with psychiatric conditions, our results can be used by clinicians and patients to guide the choice of antidepressant.

Pillinger at al., Lancet. 2025

The interactive online calculator for CARE-DM, available at https://vaponte.shinyapps.io/CARE-DM/.

Development and validation of the CARE-DM model to predict the cardiovascular risk in older persons with type 2 diabetes

We developed a tool, CARE-DM, that predicts the risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event (such as heart attacks and strokes) in adults aged 65 years and older who have type 2 diabetes but have not yet experienced a cardiovascular event previously. Our tool could help doctors and patients make informed decisions on whether changes in disease management are needed, to reduce the likelihood of future cardiovascular events.

Ribero et al., Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2025