Austria

Austria’s Health Structure Plan (ÖSG) 2017–2022 serves as a central planning instrument to optimize healthcare service delivery, infrastructure, and governance. It aligns with Austria’s Health Target Steering Reform, integrating acute care, outpatient services, rehabilitation, and digital health systems into a coordinated national framework. The plan emphasizes regional healthcare planning, efficiency in resource allocation, and cross-sector collaboration. Key developments include enhanced primary healthcare models, improved patient referral pathways, and expanded digital health initiatives. The plan introduces standardized quality criteria for medical facilities, new guidelines for highly specialized care (e.g., rare diseases, palliative care, and genetic medicine), and infection control measures. However, challenges persist in workforce distribution, emergency service coordination, and financing sustainability. Efforts to reduce hospital overcrowding by shifting services to outpatient and day-care settings remain a priority but face resistance due to funding complexities and regional disparities. The plan promotes integrative regional healthcare models, telehealth adoption, and better coordination between inpatient and outpatient services. It also introduces a national medical equipment plan to optimize high-cost medical technology distribution. Despite progress, governance inefficiencies, uneven rural-urban healthcare accessibility, and fragmented financing structures hinder full implementation. While the ÖSG 2017–2022 lays a strong foundation for Austria’s healthcare reform, its long-term success depends on continued investment, policy adaptations, and strengthened collaboration between federal and regional authorities​.