Medgate Kids Line

Medical emergency? We work in partnership with various children's hospitals and other hospitals and are available around the clock for you and your child.

Call Kids Line

Fürsorgliche Mutter kümmert sich um ihr krankes Kind im Bett

Available 24/7

On behalf of the children's hospitals, Medgate operates Switzerland's only telemedicine service specialising in paediatric and adolescent emergencies. Our Kids-Line team provides quick and straightforward medical advice over the phone when your child is not feeling well. Our team of doctors and experienced pediatric nurses is available around the clock. In six out of ten cases, the issue can be fully resolved right over the phone—without having to go to the emergency room.

Call Kids Line

Costs

Telemedicine appointments with Medgate are billed through health insurance as part of statutory coverage (just like an in-person visit to a doctor’s office) and are recognized by all Swiss health insurers. During the day on weekdays, a teleconsultation costs an average of CHF 50. Surcharges apply at night between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., on weekends and holidays, and in emergencies. An emergency consultation with Medgate costs an average of CHF 88.

In certain insurance plans offered by our partner health insurers, you may not even incur costs toward your deductible or copayment.

Ready for an Emergency

Download the Medgate app and be prepared for an emergency: If your child is sick and you need immediate medical assistance, you can tap the Kids-Line button directly in the app. You’ll be connected to our Kids-Line team right away.

To the Medgate App

Medgate Kids Line: Rund um die Uhr medizinische Hilfe für Kinder

Study Shows: Kids Line Takes the Pressure Off Parents and Emergency Rooms

“For children who are only mildly ill, it’s best to avoid a visit to the emergency room,” says Georg Staubli, head of the emergency department at the University Children’s Hospital Zurich. “That’s why this close collaboration with Medgate through the Kids Line is so important to us: Together with Medgate, we pediatric hospitals ensure that the quality of telemedicine services is very high by having our doctors coach the Kids Line team. Good telemedical pediatric counseling saves many parents from having to visit an emergency department with their children who have mild illnesses. This allows us to focus our resources on those children who urgently need us.”

Medgate operates the Kids Line on behalf of eleven children’s and cantonal hospitals and two cantonal medical associations. A study published in 2025 demonstrates that this service—the only one specializing in telemedical care for pediatric and adolescent emergencies—significantly reduces the burden on emergency departments. More than two-thirds of the parents who called would have gone directly to an emergency department if it weren’t for the Kids Line. More than half of them decided not to go to the hospital after a telephone consultation through the Kids Line. This is confirmed by a scientific study conducted by Medgate in collaboration with the University Children’s Hospital of Zurich and with the support of the University Children’s Hospital of Basel and the cantonal hospitals in Lucerne, Aarau, Baden, and Winterthur.

Significant Relief for Emergency Department Resources Through Telemedicine

More than two-thirds of the parents who called would have gone directly to an emergency room had it not been for the Kids Line service. More than half of them decided not to go to the hospital after a telephone consultation through the Kids Line.
The Kids Line team’s recommendations were very well received: Over 80 percent of parents followed the assessment when the medical professional concluded that telemedical treatment of the issue was sufficient or that visiting an emergency department would be the correct course of action.
An analysis of the Kids Line’s triage quality showed that in 90 percent of cases, the Kids Line team’s assessment aligned with that of the hospital staff.

To the Press Release