Shortage of Doctors in Rural Areas

“A sick cow is better off than a sick farmer’s wife”

In rural areas, there is an acute shortage of doctors covered by health insurance.(Bild: RioPatuca)

There are fewer and fewer restaurants, banks, local retailers—and even health insurance clinics: The decline in rural doctors is alarming communities and the Medical Association.

Medical care is particularly struggling outside of metropolitan areas. “Please wait!” is what patients often hear when they have an appointment at a health insurance-covered practice. Not every insurance subscriber can or wants to afford a private doctor. In general practice alone, as of October, there were about 85 open health insurance positions; among specialists, the number was 90.

Practices in rural areas often remain vacant. “While we have 1.7 open public health insurance positions per 100,000 residents in the city, the rural population has 2.3 open public health insurance positions per 100,000 residents—that’s 40 percent more,” explains general practitioner Carmen Berti-Zambanini.

More flexible work schedules and better compensation for services could help remedy the situation. The former would accommodate women who wish to have children.

A home medicine cabinet is the ideal solution in rural areas. Patients don’t have to take the mail bus to get to the nearest pharmacy.

Carmen Berti-Zambanini, Ärztekammer

A key lever for rural areas is, of course, strengthening home medicine cabinets. All it would take is a single stroke of the pen in the Pharmacy Act. “It contains a completely outdated provision stating that no private home pharmacy may be authorized within a four-kilometer radius of a public pharmacy, and within a radius of four to six kilometers, only in the form of a successor practice,” the rural physician continued.

The Pharmacy Act is strict—and outdated.(Bild: APA/BARBARA GINDL)

The situation is different for veterinarians, who are allowed to bring medications with them on house calls. “A sick cow in Austria is still better off than a sick female farmer,” the general practitioner emphasizes.

Medical Care at Risk in Many Communities
“One thing is certain: medical care is a decisive factor for the future of a community,” says Silvester Hutgrabner of the Medical Association. According to a survey by Kommunalverlag, the issue of “health and medical care” is the most important. Thirty-six percent of politicians see medical care in their community as being at risk over the next five years.

A home medicine cabinet typically contains 150 to 200 items, compared to 6,000 different medications available at a public pharmacy.

Aus der Apothekerkammer

For the Chamber of Pharmacists, the home medicine cabinet is a “emergency supply” for exceptional cases. In addition, pharmacies are open outside of regular business hours.