Tyrol tops Austria for vacant public-insurance doctor posts

Tyrol has the highest proportion of vacant public-insurance doctor positions in Austria, excluding general practitioners, ORF reported, citing monitoring by the Austrian Health Insurance Fund. The shortages are particularly severe among specialists and dentists.

Across Austria, 97 percent of the roughly 10,300 Austrian Health Insurance Fund positions are filled. Tyrol has 847.5 positions in total. Of 324.5 positions for general practitioners, 312.5 are filled, giving a coverage rate of 96.3 percent.

The situation is worse among specialists. Of 277 positions, 254 are filled, or 93.5 percent. Tyrol ranks last nationwide for dentists: 188 of 246 positions are occupied, leaving 58 vacancies and a coverage rate of 78.86 percent.

The Tyrolean Greens said some districts have no public-insurance doctor in certain specialties. Landeck has no contracted ophthalmologist, while Kitzbühel has no contracted paediatrician. Several districts lack gynaecologists, and three districts have no doctors specialising in internal medicine.

The Greens are also calling for more primary care units, which they described as doctors’ centres. Health spokeswoman Petra Wohlfahrtstätter said Tyrol was also at the bottom in this area and accused the Austrian People’s Party of having neglected their development. The Greens said the growing divide between patients with different levels of access to care was also a question of social justice.