"Digital before outpatient"

Online doctor’s appointments to be expanded

Doctors are to offer more video consultations from 2026 (symbolic image).

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

Austria's healthcare system is to become more digital. From 2026, it should be possible to book doctor's appointments nationwide via the 1450 hotline, and video constellations are also to be offered more frequently. "Digital before outpatient before inpatient" is the guiding principle, said Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) on Wednesday.

"It has to benefit patients" and data security has top priority. Data that is already available would simply be linked and made accessible, said Rauch. In future, for example, all findings and images are to be integrated into the ELGA health record with its own app. The vision is that patients will no longer have to "carry a bag full of findings and X-ray images from doctor to doctor and retell their medical history", said Andreas Hubmann, Chairman of the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK).

Rescueservices get access to ELGA
ELGA should then be used to ensure that medication, previous illnesses and laboratory results can be retrieved clearly and as completely as possible. The ambulance service and employees of 1450 will have access to the data in future. Elective doctors will also be connected to the e-card system.

Another innovation concerns people with chronic illnesses, who will be able to be prescribed health apps from next year, for example a nutritional aid for patients with diabetes. "These are steps that are the envy of other countries in Europe," the Minister of Health is convinced.

According to estimates, the costs for the digital innovations amount to 51 million euros per year. The "e-Health Strategy Austria" was jointly developed by the federal government, the provinces and the social insurance system, and its priorities are set until 2030.