Vorarlberg replaces little-used QR codes for Hotline 1450 tracking

Vorarlberg has stopped using QR codes to track whether its health hotline 1450 directs patients to hospital outpatient departments, ORF reported. The codes were rarely scanned, and the state is now using e-cards to record patient visits.

People who called the hotline and were advised to visit an outpatient department received a code by text message or email. They could present it when registering, allowing the department to check whether Hotline 1450 had recommended the visit.

Internal reviews found that patients presented and staff scanned the codes in only a few cases. The state therefore saw insufficient added value in the system, which was discontinued after a few months.

Health Councillor Martina Rüscher said the QR code had not been the ideal tool. The state still wants to measure how the hotline guides patients and is switching to tracking visits through e-card use. Rüscher said the new system was somewhat better and was being introduced.

Rüscher said Vorarlberg already records comparatively more calls to the hotline than other Austrian states. She also said the state has a higher level of self-sufficiency and needs to call rescue services less often than any other state. The hotline system “seems to be working,” she said.