Emergency in the healthcare system: Doctors urgently urge reforming!

Emergency in the healthcare system: Doctors urgently urge reforming!

Health care in Austria faces acute challenges that require pervasive action. As the Austrian Medical Association emphasizes, there is a risk of service restrictions and extended waiting times, since the coalition negotiations do not tackle the necessary questions to overcome the current problems. Johannes Steinhart, President of the Austrian Medical Association, emphasizes that crucial health policy measures should now be topped onto the agenda. The supply bottlenecks require "brave reforms" in all areas. OTS reported about it.

Steinhart presents five central demands to secure health care in the long term: First of all, an increase in financial resources is necessary for health care in order to take the rising costs into account by an aging population and modern treatment methods. He also warns of a potential sale of public institutions to private investors, which could worsen the care. He also calls for the rapid expansion of the public sector, since almost 300 health insurance practices in Austria are currently vacant. Finally, he emphasizes the need to reduce the bureaucracy and to counteract the shortage of doctors, since many health insurance doctors will soon retire. So also the Federal Medical Association, which emphasizes a similar reform requirement.

Necessary reforms in both countries

The challenges in healthcare are also immense in Germany. Dr. Klaus Reinhardt, President of the Federal Medical Association, calls for comprehensive reforms, in particular the improvement in prevention and better coordination in patient care. A central concern is to reduce bureaucracy to give doctors more time for their patients. The introduction of a model in which general practitioners take care of the coordination of care is intended to help increase efficiency. In addition, additional financial relief for cash contributions are required to keep the healthcare system stable.

In view of the impending deterioration in health care in both countries, it is crucial that the new government in Austria and the political leadership in Germany will quickly implement the significant reforms to ensure adequate care for the population. The pressure on those responsible increases, because the population expects solutions instead of only empty promises.