2024-02-14 19:54:46
Opposition demands from the expansion of medical study places to the new MTD law
Vienna (PK) – The legal basis required for the introduction of specialists in general medicine and family medicine was approved at today’s meeting Health Committee decided unanimously. A total of five years of training (nine months of basic training and 51 months of specialist training) is planned for the new special subject, which cannot begin until June 1, 2026 at the earliest. The representatives of all parliamentary groups agreed that this was an important step towards strengthening the professional profile and primary care in general in Austria.
ÖVP health spokesman Josef Smolle responded to concerns about extending the training, which currently lasts almost four years, with the argument that the last few months have been spent in teaching practices and that the young doctors are already actively working. By gradually increasing the training time, no “gaps” would arise.
Changes to the Hospital and Spa Act were also supported by all parliamentary groups (3867/A), which is intended to better address problems in the area of outpatient medical-therapeutic care with regard to the supply of doctors. For this reason, the permanent presence of doctors should not be required in all areas where almost exclusively non-medical therapeutic services are provided.
New special subject for general and family medicine with five years of training
The specialist in general medicine and family medicine should be the first point of contact for all health concerns, according to the initiative proposal from the ÖVP and the Greens (3865/A). The area of responsibility of the new special subject is broad and includes the holistic, continuous and coordinated medical care of the entire area of human life, which is also intended to be expressed by the addition “family medicine” in the title. As part of the specialist medical training, which includes 33 months of basic specialist training and 18 months of specialist specialist training, the doctors should not only gain insight into other subjects such as internal medicine or pediatrics and adolescent medicine, but above all also experience in everyday professional life collect.
In addition to working in teaching practices, teaching group practices and teaching outpatient clinics, parts of the training can also be completed in acute outpatient clinics for primary care. A transitional provision provides for a gradual expansion of the duration of training in the special subject focus training over several years. There is also the option of either completing all training that began before June 1, 2026 in accordance with the current law or transferring to the new specialist training.
The amendment also creates a long-term solution for those doctors who have fled from crisis areas and who have been working in the domestic healthcare system for some time due to an exemption in force during the pandemic. Ukrainian doctors, for example, now have four years to complete nostrification, provided they have submitted the application for this by the end of 2024 at the latest. This ensures that they can work under the supervision of doctors who are authorized to practice independently in Germany until August 1, 2028.
Ralph Schallmeiner (Greens) was pleased with the proposed law, which could now be passed today after intensive consultations and the involvement of all stakeholders. This creates training that is based on international standards.
Josef Smolle (ÖVP) also agreed with this statement, who also emphasized the expansion into family medicine and the “good and acceptable transitional provisions”.
Philip Kucher (SPÖ) also assessed the changes positively. However, one should not assume that this measure will be sufficient to generally strengthen general medicine. If the aim is to harmonize services or standardize the catalog of services, then significantly more resources would be needed.
Gerhard Kaniak (FPÖ) spoke of a good example of constructive cooperation across all party lines. One could start with the basic training, which in his opinion should be made shorter, as well as the salaries in the teaching practices, which are lower than in the clinics. If you also had the opportunity to manage a primary care unit on your own after training, then that would also be a good incentive, he was convinced.
Health Minister Johannes Rauch announced that the specific design of the training would be available in the form of a regulation by the summer. In the direction of MP Fiona Fiedler (NEOS), the department head made it clear that primary care units can also be teaching practices.
SPÖ is warning about the promised billions of patients and is demanding a guarantee of appointments for medical treatments
The domestic health system is “cracking at every turn,” the SPÖ once again criticizes in a motion for a resolution, with the problems ranging from a lack of staff, long waiting times for operations to a lack of financial resources (3791/A(E)). Especially during the “black-blue” government periods, millions were withdrawn from the health sector and enormous damage was caused by the “dismantling of the health insurance companies”. The ÖGK alone had a net loss of around €386 million in 2023, says SPÖ club chairman and health spokesman Philip Kucher. The promised billion in patients was never fulfilled. It has now also been confirmed by the Court of Auditors that this was a “shame”.
MP Juliane Bogner-Strauß (ÖVP) pointed out that a total of €3.3 billion more had been made available to patients since 2020. She was also of the opinion that the merger of the health insurance funds had achieved a lot and cited harmonization of services in a wide variety of areas.
SPÖ for doubling the number of medical study places in the fight against the shortage of doctors
The Social Democrats also see an urgent need for action on the issue of the shortage of doctors, which is becoming increasingly serious. The reasons for this would include the age structure of the doctors and the high part-time quota. In order to maintain the status quo, at least 1,450 people would have to complete medical studies per year, but currently there are only 840. From the SPÖ’s point of view, it is therefore necessary not only to double the number of study places, but also to evaluate the entrance tests (2947/A(E)).
Josef Smolle (ÖVP) pointed out that the number of study places has increased continuously since 2014. One problem is that in Vienna, for example, you have to wait up to 18 months for a place for basic training. Gerhard Kaniak (FPÖ) also referred to the long waiting times and suggested the introduction of a training place guarantee. It’s not just the training places that are a problem, but also the working conditions, which need to be made more attractive. For example, an evaluation by the Medical Association showed that young doctors were not satisfied with the quality of training in hospitals.
FPÖ: Amendment to the professional law of the higher medical-technical services (MTD) and improvement of trauma surgical care in Austria
FPÖ health spokesman Gerhard Kaniak called for an amendment to the professional law of the higher medical-technical services (MTD) by means of a motion for a resolution (3380/A(E)). This is “urgently” necessary because the MTD law, which has been in force for 30 years, no longer meets current requirements for the seven MTD professions (biomedical analysis, dietetics, occupational therapy, speech therapy, orthoptics, physiotherapy and radiology technology).
MP Ralph Schallmeiner (Greens) informed that a new MTD law was being negotiated and therefore requested that the FPÖ initiative be postponed.
The Freedom Party also saw imminent danger in trauma surgical care in Austria (3337/A(E)). FPÖ MP Gerhard Kaniak refers to an open letter from the relevant specialist society, which warns that the care of seriously injured people is on the verge of collapse. The problems ranged from dramatic personnel problems in hospitals, training gaps in the special subject of “orthopedics and traumatology” to the lack of implementation of so-called trauma networks in numerous federal states. It is therefore important to quickly implement these measures contained in the list of demands of the Austrian Society for Trauma Surgery (ÖGU), urges the FPÖ health spokesman. In addition, there is an urgent need to expand operating room capacities and make the hospital doctor profession more attractive.
NEOS for better control of the distribution of subjects in medicine
The NEOS had submitted an application on the subject of a shortage of doctors, with the main aim being to better manage the distribution of subjects in medicine (2930/A(E)). Fiona Fiedler (NEOS) pointed out that there are currently major shortages, especially among pediatricians, child and adolescent psychiatrists, and general practitioners, especially in rural regions. In addition, there has been a shortage of forensic pathologists for a long time, which has led to problems with criminal prosecution, especially in the area of violent crimes. The central demand was to ensure a future-oriented staffing of subjects.
Diagnostic documentation in medical practices
Another NEOS proposal aimed at mandatory ICPC-2 diagnostic documentation in the practice setting (1426/A(E)). This is a classification that was developed specifically for primary care and family medicine. The application has been common practice in Germany since 2009, and the ICPC-2 coding is partially – but not comprehensively – used in Austrian primary care practices.
All opposition motions for resolutions on the agenda were postponed with the votes of the ÖVP and the Greens. (Health Committee continued) sue
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