How testosterone therapy works in Appenzell Ausserrhoden
At Swiss TRT, we combine the proximity of your local doctor with the specialization of an experienced specialist. No local endocrinologist required, no months-long wait times.
17 questions about your physical, psychological, and sexual well-being — based on the clinically validated AMS questionnaire.
Blood Test
At your family doctor or in a laboratory in Appenzell Ausserrhoden. In the morning, fasting, on 2 different days.
Specialist Consultation
An experienced specialist evaluates your values via video and creates your personal therapy plan if necessary.
Why telemedicine in Appenzell Ausserrhoden?
Just under 57,000 people live in Appenzell Ausserrhoden, spread across twenty municipalities on two ridges. For an endocrinological consultation, the path almost always crosses the cantonal border — with travel, referral and waiting time. Via telemedicine, precisely this detour disappears.
Care situation: A canton that is medically at home in St. Gallen
Appenzell Ausserrhoden has one acute hospital: Spital Herisau at Spitalstrasse 6. It belongs to the Spitalverbund AR and, by its own account, provides extended basic medical care for Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Appenzell Innerrhoden. There is no second acute hospital — in Heiden, the medical outpatient centre MAiH now occupies the former hospital building, and the urology consultations of Spital Herisau take place there and in Appenzell as well as in Herisau itself.
Endocrinology appears on the specialty list of Spital Herisau — but not in the way you would know it from a central hospital. It is covered by a consulting physician, and the contact address for the consultation is the Ärztehaus Gossau at Lerchenstrasse 32, already in the canton of St. Gallen. For inpatients, the hospital lists endocrinological consultations; diabetes counselling runs through Diabetes Ostschweiz at Kasernenstrasse 6 in Herisau. Nowhere does the hospital claim a focus on andrology or testosterone therapy.
The nearest full specialist clinic is the Clinic for Endocrinology, Diabetology, Osteology and Metabolic Diseases at the Cantonal Hospital St.Gallen, Rorschacher Strasse 95. For Herisau that is a short trip, since the city of St. Gallen is a neighbouring municipality. From Walzenhausen, Schönengrund or Urnäsch it becomes half a day. Blood draws, by contrast, are not a bottleneck in the canton: group practices with their own laboratory exist in Herisau, Teufen, Gais, Stein and Heiden.
Wait times: Endocrinologist vs. Telemedicine
Traditional Path
Several weeks — within the canton the consultation runs through a consulting physician with a contact address in Gossau SG, the specialist clinic is at the Cantonal Hospital St.Gallen
Family doctor → Referral → Endocrinologist → Start of therapy
Via Telemedicine
A few days after the blood test
Blood test at family doctor → Video consultation → Prescription
Blood test in Appenzell Ausserrhoden: Where and how?
For the diagnosis, you need a blood test — in the morning before 11 a.m., fasting. The easiest way is at your family doctor. They can arrange all necessary values (testosterone, SHBG, LH, FSH, blood count), and the costs are covered by basic insurance.
You can find out exactly which values are measured and what they mean in our detailed guide: Blood test for TRT — all values explained.
| Location | Details | Walk-in possible |
|---|---|---|
| ★Your Family Doctor | Any family doctor in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden can arrange the necessary blood tests — whether in Herisau, Teufen, Speicher, Heiden or Urnäsch. Laboratory costs via basic insurance. | Appointment required |
| Polipraxis Herisau | Group practice with family medicine and its own laboratory diagnostics. Appointment bookable online. Mon–Thu 07.30–12.00 / 13.00–18.00, Fri 07.00–12.00 / 13.30–17.00.📍 Gossauerstrasse 24, 9100 Herisau📞 071 352 44 33polipraxis.ch | Appointment required |
| Medbase Teufen | Medical centre with family medicine and laboratory. Appointment booking online. Mon–Fri 07.30–18.00, Sat 08.00–12.00.📍 Speicherstrasse 8, 9053 Teufen AR📞 071 335 63 63medbase.ch | Appointment required |
| MAiH — Medizinisches Ambulatorium in Heiden | Medical centre in the former hospital building, with family medicine, a laboratory and specialist consultations. Appointment after registration. Mon–Fri 08.00–12.00 / 13.00–18.00, Sat 08.00–12.00.📍 Werdstrasse 1A, 9410 Heiden📞 071 898 40 80maih.ch | Appointment required |
| Polipraxis Gais | Group practice with family medicine and laboratory diagnostics, consultation by arrangement. Mon–Fri 08.00–12.00 / 13.00–17.00.📍 Rösslistrasse 1, 9056 Gais📞 071 793 27 27polipraxis.ch | Appointment required |
| Medbase Stein | Small medical centre in the Hinterland, appointment on request. Mon 07.30–12.00 / 13.00–17.30, Tue 07.30–12.00 / 13.00–16.30, Fri 08.00–12.00.📍 Dorf 870, 9063 Stein AR📞 071 335 63 43medbase.ch | Appointment required |
As of: March 2026. Opening hours, addresses, and contact details may change. Please check current information on the respective website before your visit.
Telemedicine for the whole canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden
Telemedicine is independent of your place of residence. Here is an overview of how the process works in different regions of the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden:
Herisau
Largest municipality and seat of Spital Herisau. Directly adjacent to the city of St. Gallen. Blood draw at a local group practice, specialist assessment via video — without a referral chain.
Hinterland (Urnäsch, Waldstatt, Schwellbrunn, Hundwil, Stein, Schönengrund)
Rural scattered settlements between the Säntis and Herisau. No specialist on site, and every trip to St. Gallen costs half a day. Blood test at the family doctor or in Stein, assessment via video from home.
Mittelland (Teufen, Bühler, Gais)
Located along the Appenzell railway towards St. Gallen. Group practices with their own laboratory in Teufen and Gais. A specialist consultation would otherwise mean travelling to St. Gallen — unnecessary via telemedicine.
Speicher, Trogen, Rehetobel & Wald
Terrace villages above Lake Constance. Good family doctor coverage, but no endocrinologist. Blood test in the village, video consultation without travel.
Vorderland (Heiden, Wolfhalden, Walzenhausen, Lutzenberg, Grub, Reute)
The part of the canton furthest from the main town. The central point of contact is the medical outpatient centre in Heiden. Appointments in St. Gallen require several connections — exactly what telemedicine spares you.
Appenzell Ausserrhoden is the canton whose largest municipality borders the city of St. Gallen, and which nevertheless spreads its just under 57,000 residents across twenty municipalities on two ridges. Anyone living in Herisau reaches a specialist in St. Gallen quickly; anyone living in Walzenhausen or Schönengrund faces a chain of connections for the same appointment. Telling detail: even the contact address for the endocrinology consultation of Spital Herisau lies outside the canton. Telemedicine makes the difference irrelevant — the blood test happens in the village, the assessment arrives via video.
Costs and Procedure
Transparent and uniform throughout Switzerland — regardless of the canton.
Initial Consultation
CHF 200
Video consultation with a specialist, evaluation of your blood values, initial assessment.
Therapy Start
CHF 500
Individual treatment plan, prescription, and therapy adjustment.
Follow-up
CHF 100
Regular check-ups: every 3 months (year 1-2), every 6 months (from year 3). Checking blood values, adjusting the dose.
All prices incl. VAT. Medication and laboratory costs not included. Laboratory costs at the family doctor are covered by basic insurance.
Frequently Asked Questions about TRT in Appenzell Ausserrhoden
Is there a specialist for testosterone deficiency in Appenzell Ausserrhoden?
Where can I have blood drawn in Appenzell Ausserrhoden?
Do I need to travel to St. Gallen for Swiss TRT?
How much does testosterone therapy cost via Swiss TRT?
Does health insurance pay for TRT?
Can I use Swiss TRT from the Vorderland or the Hinterland?
How does testosterone deficiency differ from burnout?
How quickly will I see results with TRT?
How is your testosterone level?
17 questions about your physical, psychological, and sexual well-being — based on the clinically validated AMS questionnaire.