Conflict with ÖGK

Doctors cancel on-call services at night

The fee dispute between the Austrian Medical Association and ÖGK has consequences for patients.

(Bild: bongkarn - stock.adobe.com / KroneMED)

There has been a far-reaching change in healthcare provision in Tyrol. General practitioners will no longer be on call at night at weekends and on public holidays. This has consequences for patients and is the result of a bitter dispute over fees. 

It is news with far-reaching consequences that reaches the Tyrolean population just before the peak flu season. According to the Tyrolean Medical Association, since October 1, the weekend and public holiday on-call service for general practitioners is no longer staffed at night. "The service is now available on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.", it is announced.

The on-call service is important for the provision of care in many regions. However, ÖGK does not want to provide extra funding for this.

Momen Radi, Ärztekammer

Doctors take ÖGK to task
Until now, an on-call doctor was available for patients around the clock at weekends in every health district. This has been a thing of the past in Innsbruck for some time, and is now also the case in the rest of the province.

The doctors' representatives emphasize that they want to continue to offer the on-call service in rural regions on a voluntary basis. "However, the ÖGK does not want to provide any funding for this," criticizes Momen Radi, chairman of the curia of registered doctors in Tyrol.

It was a proposal by the Medical Association to limit the time on call at weekends and on public holidays.

ÖGK

ÖGK refers to the wishes of the doctors
The issue is how night shifts are remunerated. The Medical Association is insisting on additional compensation "so as not to make the job of a statutory health insurance doctor even less attractive". The ÖGK states that it was a proposal by the Medical Association to limit the hours of on-call duty at weekends and on public holidays. "The hours were reduced by half while wages remained the same - this is considered a great success in other sectors," it says.

The doctors' additional demands are considerable, but they are not fundamentally opposed to them, the ÖGK points to the ongoing fee negotiations. These are proving particularly difficult this year. The fronts between the Tyrolean Medical Association and ÖGK have hardened. 

Patients must find other ways
What does the restriction of on-call services mean for the population? If they have a complaint at night at the weekend, they now have to either call the health hotline 1450, alert the ambulance service or go to a hospital outpatient clinic. The on-call service that has functioned for decades is history for the time being.