Surgery posts

Upper Austria lacks 22 general practitioners

The shortage of doctors in Upper Austria remains high. There are currently 22 vacancies for general practitioners. Although this is two fewer than a year ago, only Lower Austria has more unfilled vacancies. 

Throughout Austria, however, the shortage of doctors in the field of general practice has eased somewhat compared to the previous year, but is increasing in the area of specialists. According to data from the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK), a total of 79.6 positions for specialists were vacant in Austria on 1 July, compared to 63.5 last year. In contrast, there are fewer vacancies for GPs this year (79.5) than last year (90). The shortage of doctors in the entire health insurance sector is still most severe in Lower Austria.

Parliamentary inquiry
This is the result of a parliamentary question answered by Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens). The shortage of general practitioners in Upper Austria is similar to that in Lower Austria (25), with a shortage of 22 GPs (2023:24). In Tyrol, as in the previous year, 15 posts are unfilled, while in Styria there are two fewer than last year (10). The situation is best in Carinthia, where at the beginning of July all positions - both for general practitioners and specialists - were filled.

In total, there are currently 39 vacancies in Upper Austria, as the figures from the Medical Association also show. Incidentally, vacant posts are posts that have been advertised and unfilled for longer than one quarter or whose advertisements have been paused.