It’s about strengthening the health literacy of the population, Steinhart said when presenting the catalog of demands called the “ÖÄK government program”. “That the person knows about what is a good lifestyle, good nutrition,” it is also about prevention and early detection. He is also very concerned about the commercialization of the health sector, and Steinhart took a stand – again against “doctor bashing”. We also need to think more about patient management. Steinhart told politicians that it was important to effectively fight the “many negative developments” in the health system. Austria.The issue of health belongs “right at the top” of the list of political priorities.
The health literacy of the population needs to be strengthened, if possible, in the early stages of life. The Medical Association therefore recommends a separate school subject, “health education,” as an essential part of the curriculum – preferably from primary school age onwards. For example, Steinhart mentioned the “Med4School” project of the Vienna Medical Association, which teaches students how their bodies work and also includes the cornerstones of the Austrian health system.
To reinforce the idea of prevention more firmly, the chamber is trying to further develop the e-card into a “digital health care card”. The Medical Association also envisions a national health care program with incentive systems; this must be adjusted individually according to the age groups. Steinhart pointed to the mother-child pass as a role model in this area.
The chairman of the Federal Curia of resident doctors and ÖÄK vice-president Edgar Wutscher also wants to focus heavily on preventive care: talk therapy and medicine must have a “much more important status” than repair therapy. This warning should not end after your maternity leave ends. The preventive medicine program needs to be redesigned – adjusted according to age, the chamber advocates an update of preventive tests.
When it comes to prevention, the chamber also wants to focus on vaccination. The chairman of the curia of employed doctors and the vice president of ÖÄK Harald Mayer, for example, proposed more reimbursement of the costs of vaccinations. In response to APA’s request, Wutscher also highlighted the usefulness of vaccines against the corona virus: “Since the WHO is sounding the alarm about the poor vaccination rates and the increasing numbers growth and that there is a new strain of Covid. , it is recommended that “We also get vaccinated against new strains of flu every year, which is exactly what is recommended for Corona.”
Another demand is that the new federal government should also deal with the control of patient flows. The Vice President of ÖÄK Harald Mayer mentioned in this regard the health line 1450 – and also the news that there will be video consultations through this way in the future. Patient management must help both sides – on the one hand, the patient, to get them the best medical care, and on the other hand, the hospitals, whose outpatient departments may have the relief from the burden. Wutscher also pointed out the need to provide the Austrian system of care for patients with a migrant background directly from the resident doctor (and not specifically in an outpatient clinic).
Steinhart reiterated that it is unclear about proposed deterrence plans, such as preventing hospitalists from obtaining additional jobs in a chosen field of medicine in the future or imposing mandatory duties on students. medical. They steadfastly refuse to question the medical profession as an independent profession.
To keep more doctors in the system, the working conditions must be made more attractive, according to the tenor. What is needed is de-bureaucratization in hospitals and orders, and there must also be flexible working time models that are suitable for different stages of life. For example, the representatives of the chamber mentioned the allowance of part-time work, more opportunities for doctors to be employed by doctors and parallel employment in hospitals and in private practices.
Wutscher mentioned a 7-point plan drawn up by the Curia of Resident Doctors. He wants more flexibility in health insurance contracts, such as more limited hours: “We can open that from one day to the next. I prefer a health insurance office that is not staffed 24 hours, but is able to prepare .” In this context, Wutscher again criticized the government’s announcement that it would create 100 new cash register positions (of which only a few have been filled so far): “It is useless to say I will give someone 100,000 euros,” said the necessary improvements in the area of health insurance contracts and the exemption of contracts to enable part-time work, for example.
