Doctors’ chamber warns new primary care units could compete with GPs
Thursday 20th August 2026 on 14:15 in
Austria
The Austrian Health Insurance Fund plans six new primary care units in Tyrol, including three in Innsbruck, but the Tyrolean Medical Chamber warns they could compete with established contracted GPs, ORF reported.
Tyrol currently has three primary care units, in Innsbruck, Fulpmes and Telfs. The six additional units are planned for three locations in Innsbruck, as well as St Johann, Kufstein and Landeck.
The units bring together general practitioners, nurses and other healthcare professionals. They are intended to offer longer opening hours and reduce pressure on hospital outpatient departments.
The Medical Chamber supports the expansion in principle but criticises the distribution of the new units. Stefan Kastner, president of the Tyrolean Medical Chamber, said the plans could create clear competition for contracted GPs. He also warned that opening several units at the same time could trigger competition for qualified staff.
Kastner said additional healthcare professionals could be financed more easily in primary care units than in GP practices because the centres offered better pay. He called for equal funding for equal services, saying GP practices should receive the same remuneration as primary care units.
The Austrian Health Insurance Fund plans to have 16 primary care units operating in Tyrol by 2030. It said an analysis of healthcare needs in Innsbruck showed that a significant generational change was approaching. Thirteen contracted general practitioners are currently over 60, including five who are over 65.
At the same time, the population in the greater Innsbruck area is expected to grow by a further 3.4 percent in the coming years. The fund said primary care units also served a large catchment area. Within a travel time of 30 minutes, the planned units in the Innsbruck area could serve about 300,000 people, or around 40 percent of Tyrol’s population.
Bernhard Achatz, head of the Tyrol branch committee of the Austrian Health Insurance Fund, said the units would respond to the wishes of younger doctors for more attractive ways to enter private practice. Longer opening hours and the expanded services would also help reduce pressure on hospital outpatient departments, he said.