Chamber wants incentive

Home pharmacies as a lure for general practitioners

The Upper Austrian Medical Chamber is campaigning for more attractive framework conditions in order to be able to fill 50 positions for general practitioners in Upper Austria. Home pharmacies could provide an incentive, as they generate significantly more income. 

It is a problem that affects rural areas in particular: as of July 31, there were 50 vacancies for statutory health insurance doctors in Upper Austria, 38 of which relate to general practice. "It is becoming increasingly difficult to fill these positions," says Wolfgang Ziegler, Deputy Chairman of the Curia of General Practitioners in Upper Austria. Translated, this means that 90,000 people in our federal state do not have direct access to general practitioners. "And that with an ageing population and increasingly sophisticated and complex medicine," emphasizes Ziegler.

No pharmacy within a radius of 60 kilometers
It is no secret that advertised positions with a family pharmacy are much easier to fill than those without - which is why the Medical Association of Upper Austria is campaigning for a change in the legal basis.

The Pharmacy Act regulates which practices are allowed to operate one and which are not. And this can sometimes lead to some strange developments. For example, there must not be a public pharmacy within a radius of six kilometers of a road for a doctor in private practice to obtain a permit. In the past, one-way streets have been rerouted or entrances rebuilt in order to get over these six kilometers.

Home pharmacies bring in at least 30,000 euros per year
"There are currently 246 surgeries with in-house pharmacies in Upper Austria, which provide medical care and medication to around a third of the population," says Tassilo Dückelmann, co-specialist for in-house pharmacies at the Medical Association. Although the population has grown by 40,000 people, this figure has remained the same, he adds. Like his colleague Ziegler, he is also calling for an improvement in the situation. The fact is that a family pharmacy pays off and makes locations more attractive. After all, each one brings in additional income of at least €30,000 per year, according to industry insiders.