ÖGK calls for more duties for doctors of choice

2023-06-28 13:08:00

ÖGK employee representative Andreas Huss said this at a press conference on Wednesday. As of July 1st, he will become chairman of the ÖGK on a rotating basis, taking over from employer representative Matthias Krenn.

The latter relied on unity on Wednesday: Over 99 percent of the decisions in the ÖGK were taken unanimously, and a lot had been achieved even in times of the corona pandemic. They would also agree as far as the future is concerned, said Krenn. So there is a need for a strengthening of the established area, a relief of the hospitals and outpatient clinics. This requires, for example, mandatory diagnostic coding, a uniform catalog of services, more patient control and digitization. There is also an “appreciative basis for discussion” with the medical association.

More transparency for private services

The ÖGK representatives emphasized again that there needs to be a stronger link between the doctors of choice and the public health system. As part of the financial equalization, there is a discussion about obliging them to use ELGA. Health insurance services should be billed online with the ÖGK, transparency between health insurance and private services should be established.

Huss also wants to restrict secondary employment for hospital doctors – they should only be allowed to work as private doctors if they are already working full-time in the hospital. In some federal states there are problems getting doctors for on-call services, which is why people have to go to outpatient clinics at night. Huss therefore wants to let elective doctors work in on-call services. “All the private doctors who say: ‘I don’t want all that with the rules’ will be private doctors in the future and have nothing to do with the public health system.”

Vice Schlögel against hostilities

Medical Association Vice-President Harald Schlögel spoke out against hostilities towards doctors of choice. These would also turn against patients, to whom one would say: “If you go to a private doctor, then we will possibly – if he does not meet certain requirements – cancel the reimbursement,” says Schlögel according to the Ö1 “Mittagsjournal”. “Blackmailing colleagues will not improve the system,” said second vice president Harald Mayer. He would close his small doctor’s office or tell patients that “if they force me to install an e-card,” they won’t get a refund.

According to a broadcast, the third medical association vice-president, Edgar Wutscher, spoke out in favor of revising the catalog of benefits in order to counteract the shortage of panel doctors: “A reform of the benefits is imperative, because individual advice, talk medicine and preventive care must finally be upgraded.” Forms of medical cooperation should become simpler and less bureaucratic, the framework conditions for primary care units less rigid, Wutscher also called for changes to health insurance contracts.

500 additional checkout points

In the next few years, 500 additional checkout counters are to be created. According to Huss, these would cost around 255 million euros a year. In order to make the checkouts more attractive, however, a uniform catalog of services and an overall contract that is uniform in all federal states are needed. According to a government plan, there should also be 120 primary care units in Austria by 2025. That would already account for 240 new jobs, said Huss. If there is a uniform catalog of benefits and an overall contract by 2025, then the 500 positions can be filled by then, the employee representative said confidently. However, the 100 new statutory health insurance doctor positions planned by the government this year will “certainly no longer be able to be filled”.

Strengthen the role of general practitioners

Huss wants to strengthen patient management and the role of general practitioners. The fact that anyone with the e-card can go to a specialist or to an outpatient clinic is not effective and people are overwhelmed. The family doctor can keep track of the patient, who in turn should only visit outpatient clinics and specialists with an activated e-card. The health hotline 1450 should also be expanded and accompany people through the system. With a magazine, however, they want to increase health literacy.

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