The aim was to develop new impulses for better health care. The burning topics of the top-class expert discussions, keynotes and panel discussions were healthy years of life, prevention, early detection and care in oncology, Hospital 2030 and health insurance-based care. In addition, the topics of brain health – focus on dementia, nudging – changing habits more easily and digital health were discussed in sessions.
Decision-makers and thought leaders in the domestic healthcare system discussed the challenges for a sustainable healthcare system and agreed that a series of implementations rather than plans are needed.
Lack of preventative measures
With increasing life expectancy, Austria’s health system shows a need for reform, because on average Austrians only live 64 years in health. Prevention measures, the networking of outpatient and inpatient care and the use of digital offerings are missing.
The most important recommendations to the new government:
“We must finally act to enable all children to grow up healthy – regardless of socioeconomic status.”
Prim. Dr. Sonja Gobara, MSc, Sonnenschein Outpatient Clinic
“Patients must receive the best possible care, which is why we are calling for 1,000 more health insurance offices.”
OMR Dr. Johannes Steinhart, Medical Association for Vienna
“Health in All Policies only works with a patient participation law that ensures basic funding for patient organizations in order to enable collaboration on an equal footing.”
Angelika Widhalm, Federal Association of Self-Help Austria, BVSHOE
“There needs to be a right to home care and a right to inpatient long-term care with uniform funding across the country – those affected must not be supplicants.”
Michael Tesar, Managing Director curaplus
“More money is needed in the public health system – we are only in the middle of the OECD when it comes to spending. The fact that people bear 23% of healthcare costs themselves is unsustainable. The expansion of outpatient care must be promoted. Uniform services and fees must be ensured through an overall medical contract. Psychosocial, diabetes and women’s health centers as well as 300 primary care centers must be implemented by 2030.”
Andreas Huss, MBA, umbrella organization of social insurance providers
“Child health and child protection must be thought of as preventive in order for them to be effective.”
Mag. Hedwig Wölfl, the seagull
“The financing of prevention, care and rehabilitation must be secured with a ‘child and youth health billion’ – and to ensure this, the government needs a State Secretariat for Child and Youth Health that acts across departments.”
Markus Wieser, Association for Children and Young People’s Rehabilitation in Austria
“We need to overcome sector boundaries in healthcare, uniform and unrestricted access for all types of healthcare facilities and patient guidance through incentives. This is the only way we can create networked, integrated and multi-professional healthcare.”
Mag. Karl Lehner, MBA, Upper Austrian Health holding, OÖG
“We need more science and more concrete measures in the areas of prevention and nutrition. Evidence-based measures exist – we just need to implement them.”
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Kurt Widhalm, Austrian Academic Institute of Nutritional Medicine, ÖAIE
“We demand rapid legal recognition of osteopathy, an independent professional profile, binding training standards, reimbursement of costs by social insurance and legal professional representation. The current situation is unnecessarily reducing the supply of healthcare services.”
Margit Halbfurter, M.Sc. DO, Austria Society for Osteopathy, OEGO
“Public care should be strengthened by rewarding freelance care.”
Mag. Elisabeth Potzmann, Austrian Health and Nursing Association
“Our healthcare system is not suffering from a shortage, but from inefficient use of resources. Reforms should be based on needs, not on individual interests. Incentive models can help promote personal responsibility and patient guidance.”
Dir. Dr. Michael Müller, social insurance for the self-employed, SVS
“The new field of sports medicine can, should and will take prevention to a new level. That’s why the rapid implementation of this subject in Austria is urgently needed.”
Prof. Dr. Norbert Bachl, sports medicine
“We are in the 21st century, people and medicine and medical technology have changed. Let’s finally make the paradigm shift and provide people the way we can and the way they need it.”
Josef Zellhofer, Younion
“We recommend that the government prioritize patient-centered diagnostic documentation using SNOMED as a flagship digitalization project, as this enables the implementation of the required patient summary.”
Dr. Franz Leisch, PRAEVENIRE association
Prof. Dr. Reinhard Riedl, board member of the PRAEVENIRE association, thanked you for the constructive contributions and discussions and added: “Our mission at PRAEVENIRE is to use stakeholder dialogue to find out which solutions enjoy the commitment of everyone involved, to work them out and to present them to the responsible government officials.