Federal government reforms hotline 1450: This is how Austria becomes healthy!

Federal government reforms hotline 1450: This is how Austria becomes healthy!

The Austrian federal government plans a comprehensive reform of the health hotline 1450 in order to improve its use and accessibility. This initiative is considered necessary to ensure uniform overall Austrian health advice. Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler (SPÖ) describes the hotline as a "health navigation system for Austria" that is intended to support citizens in health issues. Responsibility for the implementation of this reform lies in the hands of Minister of Social Affairs Korinna Schumann and State Secretary of Health Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig, both also from the SPÖ.

The hotline is to be expanded gradually, whereby the first measures could be implemented in 2026. The hotline in the federal states is currently being expanded differently. In Vienna, over 1450 appointments can be booked in primary care units, while a mobile emergency service is conveyed in Styria and targeted allocations in hospital outpatient clinics are carried out in Upper Austria. The aim of the reform is to reduce these differences and to establish 1450 as an easily accessible, understandable and reliable contact point in the health system.

planned extensions of the hotline

An important goal of the reform is the expansion of services that are offered via the hotline. Appointments, video releases and digital recalls, which should allow patients to make it possible to take medical help outside of regular ordination times, are planned, among other things. BABLER emphasizes that access to medical care should take place as quickly as possible and "on the cash desk". In order to realize the nationwide roll-out, votes between the federal government, the federal states and the municipalities are necessary, which were initiated on June 6th at the Government Conference in Leogang.

The Hotline 1450 played a crucial role in Covid 19 pandemic. Since it started in a pilot phase in 2017, the hotline has already recorded around 17.7 million calls until its sixth birthday on April 7, 2023, with 97 percent of the calls from the past three years during the pandemic. In the high phase of pandemic in 2021, more than 70,000 calls a day were registered. Even today, around 3,100 people use the hotline every day, mainly on concerns such as abdominal pain, vomiting and dizziness.

The role of 1450 in the health system

The hotline is occupied by a medically trained, qualified nursing person who advises on the phone. This 24/7 accessible and free service should in future be increasingly used as a guide through the health system. Minister of Health Johannes Rauch emphasizes that 1450 represents the first point of contact for medical questions and thus plays a central role in the Austrian health system.

In order to ensure the quality and effectiveness of the health system, the reform processes in Austria are also supported by data and analyzes of the European observatory for health systems. This institution regularly publishes country profiles that promote the exchange of experiences and knowledge between the European health systems. In recent years there have been extensive analyzes that deal with the organization and financing of health care and offer important foundations for ongoing reforms.

The focus on a uniform hotline and its expansion is therefore a central part of the federal government's efforts to make health care in Austria more efficient and more citizen -friendly, which includes extensive information and advisory services.