Upper Austria struggles to fill 46 public insurance doctor posts

Upper Austria currently has 46 vacant positions for doctors treating patients under public health insurance, leaving the province with the lowest density of such doctors in Austria, ORF reported. Gynaecology and general medicine are particularly affected.

Fifteen positions for gynaecologists are unfilled. In rural areas, some practices must see between 1,500 and 2,000 patients per quarter, while practices in urban areas handle around 1,000, said Doris Steiger-Bauer, a Linz gynaecologist and spokeswoman for the specialist group. Other doctors have to compensate for the vacancies, she said.

Six dermatology positions are also vacant, while 26 general practitioners are being sought.

The Upper Austrian Medical Chamber partly attributes the staffing shortage to working conditions. Many young doctors want greater flexibility and are therefore choosing not to open a traditional public insurance practice, said Silke Haim, president of the Upper Austrian Medical Chamber.

There are generally enough doctors in the healthcare system, Haim said, but public insurance contracts are not attractive enough for many young physicians. The growing trend towards part-time work is another issue, she said, because the contracts do not allow part-time arrangements.

Hospitals, by contrast, offer part-time positions in all medical specialties. This makes it harder to recruit staff for practices offering full-time public insurance contracts.

Patients are increasingly being forced to turn to private practices that do not bill public health insurance. Haim said the chamber also hoped patients would develop greater health literacy and not seek a medical consultation every time, referring to the 1450 health hotline.