Alarming survey

Healthcare system: Austrians’ frustration on the rise

Satisfaction with the Austrian healthcare system and medical care has increasingly declined since May 2020. This was the result of a survey conducted by the Demox Institute on behalf of the Austrian Health Forum (AHF). 

While 37% of the 1,000 respondents were still "very satisfied" with healthcare in May 2020, this May the figure was only 9%. The results were presented at the Schladming AHF Congress and will be discussed there.

Declining quality
Austrians are less satisfied with their healthcare system than they were before the pandemic. In the latest survey, over half (57%) of respondents stated that they were "very satisfied" or "fairly satisfied" with healthcare in Austria. However, 65% also saw a deterioration in care, while 59% complained about declining quality in the previous year.

Laborious search for a doctor's appointment
Half (50 percent) found it difficult to get an appointment with a doctor. In 2023, 33% criticized the availability of appointments. In addition to the availability of appointments, other aspects were also surveyed: around a third rated the Austrian healthcare system as "not" (24%) or "not at all" (8%) simple and clearly structured. More than one in ten stated that they "did not" or "did not at all" know where to turn if they had a medical problem. In any case, half of those surveyed asked their close family and friends.

Christoph Hörhan, organizer of the Austrian Health Forum, interpreted the overall survey result as a "loss of trust". This would be part of a "Europe-wide trend", which the WHO had already pointed out. This year, the AHF Forum in Schladming is taking trust in the healthcare system and medical care as its general theme.