Practical test: Waiting time of up to 65 days for an appointment with a statutory health insurance doctor

Accordingly, in 8 out of 14 disciplines waiting times longer than last year, only in three have they become shorter. This has increased the most cardiology with plus 12 days to 45followed by neurology with plus eight days to 50. Die Internal Medicine hangs up for 2 days 65 Roofs to – the highest median value measured so far in the study. Pulmonology (+4), radiology (+3), orthopedics and ENT (+2 each) and pediatrics (+1) also recorded longer waiting times.

Die Psychiatry stays with 61 days are at the second highest level of the study Dermatology at 36 days, the Family doctor at 1 day. Shorter than 2025: gynecology (−12 to 34 days), urologists (−9 to 39) and Eye (−6 to 46) – all three still above the monthly mark.

After psychiatry, the longest waiting times are in internal medicine (median 61 days), followed by neurology (50 days) and eye (46 days). reaches peak values Urology in Styria with 88 daysfollowed by the Internal medicine at 78 and the Psychiatry with 72 days, both in Upper Austria.

Statutory health insurance patients wait the longest for a specialist appointment Burgenland with 53 days and in Vorarlberg with 46 daysshortest in Vienna with 22 days. ÖAcross Austria as well as in Lower Austria and Styria, the median is 34 days.

Sebastian Arthofer, head of studies and co-founder of Krankenversicherung.at, cites the reason for the increasingly longer waiting times, which have been almost for years unchanged number of statutory health insurance physicians (plus 0.4 percent since 2000 to 8,236). “With a population that has grown by around 1.2 million people in the same period. The growth in the medical supply is taking place almost exclusively in the elective doctor area, which initially has to be paid for privately.”

A another problem: Around a third of health insurance practices are currently not accepting any new patients. This study only measures where an appointment was even offered.

“If patients wait up to 65 days for a health insurance appointment and around one in three health insurance practices no longer accepts new patients, then private health insurance is no longer a luxury for many people – but a necessity,” says Arthofer.