Negotiations with the health insurance company (ÖGK) would stall. The state is in last place in Austria with resident-related care, argued Deputy Governor Christine Haberlander (ÖVP) as a health officer in a media talk on Thursday in Linz.
Currently 23 devices in use
According to the large-scale equipment plan approved by the federal target control, 23 devices are in use in Upper Austria, twelve of them in the central Linz area, Haberlander calculated. On average in Austria there are almost 51,000 people on one device. In Upper Austria there are almost 65,000, in Lower Austria 62,000, in Styria 44,500 and in Vienna around 43,500. A guideline for planning is an availability of 45 minutes. This is not given in the regional clinics in Bad Ischl, Freistadt, Kirchdorf, Schärding and Grieskirchen, or only to a limited extent.
Therefore, the other devices should be installed there. The example of the Rohrbach Clinic shows that they can also be operated economically there. A state-of-the-art MRT is in use there – in cooperation with referring doctors from the Rohrbach and Urfahr area districts. The social security pays tariffs for the care of the patients assigned by them.
Negotiations with ÖGK stall
The reason for their advance is that the negotiations with the ÖGK have stalled, a conclusion is not in sight, reported Haberlander. If the ÖGK supported the wishes of the state, they would be brought to the federal target management for approval, in the latter the federal states, the social insurance and the health ministry are represented. The country is quite ready to take money into hand and share the costs with the ÖGK. As a rule, conversion work is necessary for each location (two million euros), equipment purchase (one million) and operating costs (800,000 euros per year).
Long waiting times for an examination
Support comes from the chairman of the management of the Upper Austrian health holding Franz Harnocourt and the managing director of the Upper Austria. Ordensspitäler Koordinations GMBH Peter Ausweger: Currently there are long waiting times for examination appointments due to the insufficient number of systems. MRI would provide optimal diagnostic bases without radiation exposure for a variety of diseases, for example of the musculoskeletal system such as broken bones, muscle and joint injuries or torn ligaments, but also for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, strokes and in vascular surgery.
ÖGK “open to discussions”
In response to this, the ÖGK stated that it was open to further discussions. “It is our common goal to ensure balanced and local care for patients”, was assured. This also applies to a better distribution of the MRT machines, because there is currently a strong concentration on the Linz metropolitan area. In the future, better accessibility should be achieved, as was also specified in the Regional Structure Plan Health 2025.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
