Health care insurance ensures free access to GP´s of choice and specialists. GP´s do not function as gatekeepers. Reimbursement for most medical services occurs directly between GP and regional sickness funds on a service related fee. Co-payments for medications and medical devices are required. Most GP´s work in single - handed practice, mostly contracted with state - administered insurance scheme, the remaining - with increasing trend - is in private practice. The social insurance schemes do not allow collective contracting, the number of contracts is limited by provincial sickness funds. Since 2001 there is a new curriculum in BME (basic medical education) which integrates courses focussing on early patient contacts, bedside teaching, gender and psychosocial medicine, family and general medicine. General Practice in Austria is a medical speciality with a minimum of three years training hospital based. (additional a voluntary training for 6 months in a teaching practice). A final examination is required for registration.

In Austria there´s no national strategy for enhancing infrastructure for research in GP. There are only three puplic schools of Medicine (Vienna, Graz, Innsbruck), and one private department for medical education (Salzburg).

 

National Exchnage Coordinator for Austria 

Dr. Julia Baumgartner (jamoe@oegam.at)

President (2009-2011) of JAMÖ (Junge Allgemeinmedizin Österreich, Young GP´s in Austria) is a sub - organisation of ÖGAM and was founded in 2006. Since them we have 75 members. The praesidium exists of 5 people. Our tasks are: Sponsoring, International contacts, Homepage, PR, Research, Medical education, Teaching practice. www.oegam.at

 

 

Senior country coordinator for Austria

President: Dr. Erwin Rebhandl (since 1993)

ÖGAM(Österreichische Gesellschaft für Allgemeinmedizin, Austrian Society of General Practice and Family medicine)

www.oegam.at