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Future of the healthcare system: digitalization strategies and prevention measures in Linz
Health speakers discussed challenges in the health system in Linz. Topics included finance, digitalization and prevention. Upper Austria handed over the presidency to Salzburg.
Future of the healthcare system: digitalization strategies and prevention measures in Linz
The health officers of the federal states and the Federal Minister of Health Johannes Rauch met in Linz to discuss the current challenges facing the health system. A central point of the conference was the handover of the presidency from Upper Austria to Salzburg.
The discussion focused on four key topics: finance, efficient resource management, digitalization and prevention. Upper Austria's health officer, Christine Haberlander, emphasized that all decisions were made unanimously and that the focus was on a common goal across all parties. These topics are directly related; For example, increased digitalization can optimize both human resources and financial resources.
Investments in the future
With the aim of reducing duplicate examinations and incorrect allocations, the health officers are striving for binding patient guidance. However, the exact implementation remains unclear. State Councilor Daniela Gutschi emphasized how important it is to promote health literacy among the population. Previous treatments with home remedies often lead to unnecessary visits to the doctor these days. This efficiency is important not only from a cost perspective, but also because the biggest shortage in the future is expected to be in personnel, as Health Minister Rauch emphasized. When it comes to financing the health system, which will require hundreds of millions of euros in the coming years, Rauch made it clear that this is not a matter of costs, but of investments.
The role of digitalization in healthcare
Haberlander pointed out that when it comes to digitalization, patients are often more advanced than the healthcare system itself. “The invisible walls in our hospitals prevent data exchange,” she described one of the problems. Both patients and employees are increasingly demanding digital networking. An example of this is the Tumor Board in Upper Austria, which sets uniform treatment standards for cancer patients. According to Rauch, the ELGA platform could serve as a personal health portal in the future.
Another focus of the discussion was health promotion and prevention. Increasing healthy years of life is a central goal of the system. In this context, there were also calls for vaccinations to become a mandatory part of social security benefits. “There is no more effective prevention than vaccination,” stated Haberlander.