Further development of the Austrian Health Care Structure Plan (ÖSG)

 ÖSG 2008, which has been in force since 6 March 2009, includes:

• core objectives and planning principles as well as descriptions of methods and quality criteria;
• benchmarks regarding number of inpatients to be expected in the 32 health care regions and four health care zones of Austria; 
• an analysis of the situation in 2006/7 in the areas of outpatient medical care; extramural therapeutic, psychological and psychosocial care; rehabilitation; and care for older people and long-term care;
• capacity planning for hospitals at provincial level (number of beds per discipline and locations for provision of specialised services; updated biomedical equipment plan); a number of data are provisional or only serve the purpose of general information after adoption of the individual Regional Health Care Structure Plans.

The need for an advancement of the ÖSG results from the Agreement under Art. 15a of Austria’s Constitutional Act, on the Organisation and Funding of Health Care from 2004 to 2013 (Article 4: binding regulations for, and inclusion in the ÖSG of, planning principles and planning definitions for additional fields; continuous updating of the present-day situation).

Under the “15a Agreement” a comprehensive revision of the ÖSG has to take place by the end of 2010, with a planning horizon to 2020. This revision will be concentrated on the following themes:

• updating the data bases and matrixes in the ÖSG;
• additional framework plan on outpatient and rehabilitation care services as well as further ÖSG chapters;
• further enhancement in the focal themes of continuity management, process management and output quality.

Work in this field has already been started, in cooperation with the corresponding bodies of the Federal Health Commission, and will be concluded by December 2010 at the latest.

Contact: Gerhard Fülöp