“I would abolish the system of doctors of choice – that doesn’t fit anymore,” Andreas Huss had recently mentioned in the Upper Austria News as a recipe for the shortage of panel doctors. At that time he was still vice chairman, now, as chairman, he once more criticized: 10,000 elective doctors would take over six percent of the care, while 8,000 panel doctors are responsible for the remaining 94 percent of the care. “If you look at the websites of many panel doctors, you will find acute homeopathy or autohemotherapy there,” says Huss. Of course, there are also many who would offer effective treatments. He wants to invite them to get into the checkout system.
In addition, “major steps are planned” in psychosocial and statutory health insurance, prevention and the vaccination program for adults.
“Biggest supply gap”
Care is not just therapy, we need social workers, psychologists, child and adolescent psychiatrists as well as therapists,” said Huss. “The biggest gap in care is in psychosocial care.” A vaccination program for adults is also planned. This should be done in the winter of 2023 /24 and 2024/25 the influenza vaccination should be available to everyone for prescription fees. In order to ensure the health care of the population, especially in rural areas, a rethinking of the system of panel doctors is necessary. Instead of practices alone, new forms of cooperation, division of labor and less are needed Bureaucracy “In ten years’ time, the system will certainly not look the same as it does today,” stressed Huss.
In addition, the catalog of medical services is to be “harmonized” soon. So that doctors in Vorarlberg offer the same services as in Burgenland.
