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Public Health In Austria
01/06/2007 - Submitted by: Argyro Kazaki
With the Health Care Reform Act of 2005, the Federal Ministry of Health and Women has established guidelines for preventive medicine. One of the central points is riskgroup-oriented preventive examinations. Such annual check-ups are paid for by the public insurers, making it possible to examine patients according to their individual needs. In this way, illnesses are recognized and given appropriate therapy in their early stages. Special attention is paid to the living habits of the patients (alcohol, smoking, illnesses in the family, etc.). The “new check-up”, offered free-of-charge from age 18 onward, is intended to be viewed by citizens with the same urgency as yearly inspection tags on their cars. In order that subsequent appointments not be forgotten, a recall process has been instituted to remind patients at regular intervals of the opportunity to take advantage of such an examination.
A further central point relates to the financing of the health care system. Demographic studies show that the Austrian population is growing ever older, while at the same time the working-age population is shrinking. The high quality of the Austrian health care system makes it one of the world’s best - and this should remain so in the future. With the Health Care Reform Act, appropriate steps have been taken to be as well-prepared as possible for future challenges.