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Above all, long waiting for diagnostic procedures such as MRI with up to 12 weeks turns out to be a problem
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Delays in the clarification process increase mortality according to the study
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ÖOF-Expert: Inside therefore recommend an instrument of “oncological urgency” for the domestic health system
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Best practices from other countries show: Structured pension paths bring noticeable improvements without significant additional costs through pure reorganization
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Comprehensive analysis of the supply situation in four profound workshops-ÖOF experts provide constructive dialogue and present solution models
The treatment of cancer is making enormous progress, and many forms of cancer are easy to treat thanks to innovative therapy approaches, so that sick people can often live with it even in advanced stages for a long time. Accordingly, the mortality rate of cancer patients has been continuously decreasing in the inside of the early 1990s. In men, mortality in Austria has decreased by 36 percent, 31 percent for women.(i)
At the same time, however, the prevalence of oncological diseases increases. That means more and more people live with cancer. There are currently around 419,000 people, and the trend is rising.
“This presents the health system with great challenges,” says Dr. Florian TraunerMSC, public health expert with a focus on health economics and system analysis at Gesundheit Austria GmbH (GöG). “Oncological patients: In principle, doctor’s appointments are often used. The more therapy lines are used, the more often the doctor visits take place, and the longer the respective disease lasts, the more hospital visits are necessary.” The figures have increased by 33 percent between 2017 and 2024 alone by 33 percent between 2017 and 2024. With the number of hospital contacts with drug therapies, the increase is even higher at 46 percent. “This trend is expected to increase in the future,” says Trauner, “and we have to prepare for this in view of an aging society.”
Austrian oncology forum raises structured supply situation
The Austrian Society for Hematology & Medical Oncology (Oegho) therefore has the Austrian oncology forum launched and the supply situation at cancer examined. “We understand the forum as an interdisciplinary dialogue and thinking format, in which practitioners: inside from all over Austria, bring in their first-hand experience in oncological care,” explains Oegho President Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ewdal waves The goals of the Upper Austria. “As part of workshops, we analyze the supply situation structured on the basis of recognized quality indicators, identify relevant deficits and then publish a supply matrix.” Four such workshops on the focus of breast cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer and bladder/kidney cancer have already taken place, others are planned.
“We present the condensed results of this comprehensive survey at the annual meeting of the ÖOF on September 9, 2025,” says Wöll, “and we want to offer a well-founded discussion, control and decision-making basis for those responsible for health policy.”
In the case of diagnostic examinations, there are waiting times of up to 12 weeks
“The Austrian Oncology Forum is through a very constructive dialogue between oncological practitioners: inside and decision-makers: marked inside”, states Priv.-Doz.in Dr.in Kathrin Strasser-WeipplMBA, medical director of the Oegho and senior physician at the Center for Oncology and Hematology at the Ottakring Clinic. The findings also made bottlenecks visible in the supposedly good oncological care in Austria. “Everyone knows the headlines about waiting times for doctor’s appointments. But most of them assume that if the crab is suspected, everything will run” like clockwork ‘due to the urgency. But that’s not always so easy, “emphasizes Strasser-Weippl. With important diagnostic examinations such as magnetic resonance imaging, the waiting time is up to 12 weeks, for computer tomographies for 3-4 weeks, with large regional fluctuations.
According to the study, delays in the clarification process lead to increased mortality in cancer
“As a supervising oncology: Inside, we currently have little handling to accelerate this process,” says Strasser-Weippl, “because-in contrast to other countries-there is no” urgency ‘for cancer patient in the Austrian health system: inside in the clarification process. ” Oncological practitioners: Inside from all over Austria, in the ÖOF that it often only succeeds in ensuring time-critical clarification of cancer with personal commitment, appointments, personal contacts or dodging in the hospital or expensive private sector.
“International studies suggest that delays in the clarification process can have unfavorable consequences,” said the Oegho expert. According to an internationally published meta study(ii) If a delay in cancer operations by 4 weeks, mortality increases by 6-8 percent, with radiation or drug therapy by 9-13 percent. “In the future, we will need clever solutions with increasing number of cases to react to the increase in patients: otherwise.
“Those responsible for other health systems recognized this and taken measures,” says Kathrin Strasser-Weippl. “For example, the British NHS has defined maximum deadlines for the clarification of suspected cancer.” With the “Urgent Cancer Referral”, clear diagnostic paths are specified, which, depending on the risk assessment, ensure rapid appointments.
Other European countries have effective programs
Dr. Thomas CzypionkaHead of the Health Economics and Policy Research Group at the Institute for Higher Studies (IHS), with an analysis of the solutions: “At the moment we have no prioritization in diagnostics. This means that a high proportion of non -evidence -based diagnostic steps – for example in the case of back or knee pain – the system. Reduce the use and, above all, to increase efficiency with structured fast-track diagnostic programs.
With the Danish ‘Cancer Patient Pathways Program’, which has been running since 2008, it was possible to reduce the waiting times for diagnosis for all forms of cancer and thus increase the three-year survival from 45 percent to 54 percent(iii). Similar to this, a lung cancer-fast track program in Italy was able to press the time until the diagnosis of 43 to 25 days(iv). And in Spain, the waiting time was reduced from 68 to 26 days by a intestinal cancer-fat track program. “In many cases, this does not even mean that additional resources would be necessary,” emphasizes IHS expert Czypionka, “but that noticeable effects can be achieved solely through smart solutions and reorganizations.”
Oegho recommends introducing the “oncological urgency” in the clarification process
“Although there are great efforts and constructive initiatives to accelerate the supply of cancer patients, we currently do not have a comprehensive instrument in Austria to ensure this necessary control,” sums up Oegho President Wöll. “We therefore recommend introducing the instrument of ‘oncological urgency’ in the Austrian health system. That would give us oncolog: inside the patient: inside – depending on the medical assessment – to prioritize and to quickly guide the system in the clarification process.”
Further information at https://www.oesterreichisches-onkologie-forum.at/
(i)Austrian national cancer register (led by statistics Austria) https://www.statistik.at/statistiken/bevoelkerung-und-soziales/gesundheit/krebserkrankungen
(ii) Mortality due to cancer treatment delay: systematic review and meta-analysis, October 2020, https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4087
(iii) Jensen/Tørring/Vedsted 2017
(iv) Scanagatta et al. 2025
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