Ketamine / KAPPending re-verificationDesignated-centers model

Praxis Fischmann

Luzern, Switzerland

Treatment & access

  • Treatments offeredIV ketamine infusions · Esketamine (Spravato) nasal spray · Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (psilocybin, LSD, MDMA) · Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) · Psychotherapy · Psychiatric treatment and diagnostic assessments · Psycho-oncology · Art therapy
  • Access routeprivate_pay
  • Price informationNo prices are published on the provider's website. For esketamine nasal spray the practice states that since the Swiss approval of 25 February 2020 the therapy for severe depression can be billed via health insurers; IV ketamine is described as off-label use, with no coverage or price information published.
  • Phone+41 41 266 03 51
  • Websitehttps://praxis-fischmann.ch

About this provider

Praxis Fischmann is a private psychiatry and psychotherapy practice on Lake Lucerne that has used IV ketamine against treatment-resistant depression since September 2018, describing itself as one of the first psychiatric practices in Switzerland to do so and as having the country's largest outpatient experience with the procedure. Infusions of 0.5 mg ketamine per kilogram body weight run over 40 minutes with ECG, pulse oximetry, respiratory rate and blood pressure monitoring, followed by an hour of observation. The practice also offers esketamine (Spravato) nasal spray, approved in Switzerland since February 2020, and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy with psilocybin, LSD and MDMA under exceptional licences from the Federal Office of Public Health, alongside TMS, psychotherapy, psycho-oncology and art therapy.

Services & programs

  • IV ketamine infusionsOff-label treatment for treatment-resistant depression, in individual cases also anxiety, OCD and trauma-related disorders; 0.5 mg/kg over 40 minutes via perfusor with ECG, pulse oximetry, respiratory rate and blood pressure monitoring, one hour of post-infusion observation and no driving on the treatment day; series of six infusions (3 per week over 2 weeks) or ten infusions, followed by individualised maintenance with lengthening intervals. Not published on the provider's website.
  • Esketamine (Spravato) nasal sprayFor treatment-resistant severe depression (Swiss approval 25.02.2020); two sprays (one per nostril) with monitoring of ECG, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate and blood pressure and one hour of observation; series of six or ten sessions with individualised maintenance. The practice states the therapy can be billed via health insurers since the 2020 Swiss approval.
  • Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (psilocybin, LSD, MDMA)Physician-supervised treatments described by the practice for treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, grief processing, addiction (psilocybin), anxiety in life-threatening illness (LSD) and PTSD (MDMA), possible in Switzerland under specific conditions with an exceptional authorisation from the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG). Not published on the provider's website.
  • Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)Listed among the practice's services alongside psychotherapy, diagnostic assessments, psychiatric treatment, family counselling, psycho-oncology and art therapy. Not published on the provider's website.

Programs & studies

ProgramKindStatus
IV ketamine programme
Off-label use; the practice states it has Switzerland's largest experience and routine with the procedure in the outpatient setting.
ketamine_ivoffered since September 2018
Esketamine (Spravato) nasal spray
Offered since the Swiss approval of 25 February 2020 for treatment-resistant severe depression; the practice states it can be billed via health insurers.
esketamine_nasaloffered
Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (MDMA, psilocybin, LSD)
The practice states these treatments are possible in Switzerland under specific conditions with an exceptional authorisation from the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG), delivered exclusively by qualified professionals within physician-accompanied psychotherapy.
psychedelic_assisted_therapyoffered under BAG exceptional authorisation

Pricing

ItemPrice
Esketamine (Spravato) therapy
Practice states billing via health insurers is possible since the 2020 Swiss approval.
Not published
IV ketamine infusion
Described as off-label use; no coverage statement published for the IV route.
Not published

Prices are taken from the provider's own website and were last checked on . Always confirm the current price with the provider before booking.

Facilities & languages

  • Facilities
    • Ground-floor lakeside practice at Alpenquai 30, Lucerne, about 10 minutes' walk from Lucerne railway station
    • Lift, wheelchair and pram accessible; public parking in front of the practice
  • LanguagesWebsite in German; team members state therapy is offered in German, Polish and Hungarian.
  • TeamLed by practice owner Dr. med. Katarzyna Fischmann (FMH psychiatry and psychotherapy, psycho-oncology SGPO, formerly senior physician at UPK Basel); team includes senior physicians Dr. med. Zita Bosnyáknné Tislerics and Bartosz Majchrzak (certified EMDR Europe practitioner and supervisor, trauma therapy), a qualified nurse, an art therapist and a secretariat. An anesthesia-trained nurse and a physician are present throughout ketamine treatments.

Common questions

Are the treatments covered by insurance?

For esketamine (Spravato) nasal spray the practice states that since the Swiss approval of 25 February 2020 the therapy can be billed via health insurers, with documented treatment resistance as a prerequisite. For IV ketamine, an off-label treatment, no coverage or price information is published.

Who is eligible for ketamine or esketamine treatment?

The practice offers these treatments to patients who have not benefited sufficiently from, or not tolerated, previous antidepressant therapy (treatment resistance). In individual cases IV ketamine may also help with anxiety disorders, OCD and trauma.

How does a ketamine infusion session run?

The infusion contains 0.5 mg ketamine per kg body weight given evenly over 40 minutes via perfusor, with continuous monitoring of ECG, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate and blood pressure, one hour of observation afterwards, and no driving or operating machinery that day.

How many sessions are planned?

A first series of six sessions (three per week over two weeks) or alternatively ten sessions. If the patient benefits, an individually agreed maintenance phase follows with progressively longer intervals; if not, the therapy is discontinued.

Is treatment inpatient or outpatient?

All treatments are outpatient in the practice; appointments are by arrangement.

Looking at alternatives? Other Swiss routes include hospital-based interventional psychiatry programmes and BAG-designated Spravato centres, as well as clinical trials of ketamine formulations; psychedelic-assisted therapy is available only from providers holding federal limited medical use authorisations.

Verification

This record was verified previously and is awaiting its scheduled re-check against the registry.

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