“We’re in a dialogue right here that’s fully pointless,” mentioned Johannes Steinhart, President of the Medical Affiliation, at a press convention on Wednesday. As an alternative, the medical affiliation is as soon as once more calling for the medical insurance sector to be made extra enticing. Greater than 250 medical insurance positions – 166 of that are basic practitioner positions – are at present vacant, and filling them is changing into more and more tough, mentioned Steinhart.
On the weekend, Vienna’s Well being Councillor Peter Hacker (SPÖ) introduced a ban on personal medical doctors for Viennese hospital medical doctors. The transfer was welcomed by the Austrian Well being Insurance coverage Fund (ÖGK). Vienna’s affected person advocate Gerhard Jelinek additionally spoke out within the “Ö1” morning journal on Tuesday in favor of “sure restrictions within the personal physician system” so as to be certain that hospitals are provided with medical doctors and that medical insurance practices can be found.
“Coercive strategies”
In line with the Medical Affiliation, solely 44 medical doctors are affected by the ban deliberate in Vienna. Just one % of the medical doctors employed by the Vienna Well being Affiliation (Wigev) work lower than ten hours, careworn Naghme Kamaleyan-Schmied, chairwoman of the training medical doctors within the Vienna Medical Affiliation. 5 % work between ten and twenty hours, lots of whom are girls with care tasks.
“With such coercive strategies, you may have the ability to obtain one thing in a socialist society, however not in an open society like we’ve,” mentioned Dietmar Bayer, vice-chairman of the Federal Affiliation of Common Practitioners. He warned that the medical doctors affected would depart the hospitals if a ban had been imposed. As an alternative of coercion, the Medical Affiliation believes {that a} bundle of measures is required to make the medical insurance system extra enticing.
“Cardinal error” of well being coverage
Steinhart described the so-called price containment to restrict the rise in prices of the well being system as a “cardinal error” in well being coverage that’s chargeable for the hunger of the outpatient sector. The President of the Medical Affiliation additionally criticized the truth that medical doctors should not included within the so-called Federal Goal Management Fee for the implementation of the well being reform.
It is usually horrible that there are “not even discussions” concerning the uniform catalogue of companies introduced by the Chamber three years in the past, criticized ÖAK Vice President Edgar Wutscher. A contemporary, uniform catalogue of companies should not include any degressions or limitations as earlier than, he mentioned. As well as, the Medical Affiliation is looking for a beginning bonus of 100,000 euros for all open positions and all medical disciplines, the precise to dispense remedy, an “e-health billion”, enhancements to the digital well being report ELGA and an growth of the vaccination program to advertise statutory medical insurance medication.
The ÖAK was unable to offer concrete figures on how most of the further medical insurance positions introduced by the federal authorities final yr have been stuffed with the start-up bonus to this point.