No longer up-to-date: Call for Amendment of the Medical Act

The Medical Services Act (SanG) introduced in 2002 was necessary at the time due to the enormous technological progress. Since then - more than 23 years - it has not been revised. The Austrian Red Cross (ÖRK) highlighted this to journalists on Wednesday. "Adjustments are necessary," said Siegfried Meryn, Chief Medical Officer of the Vienna Red Cross. "We see that we are reaching our limits," added ÖRK Federal Rescue Commander Gerry Foitik.

Legal Gray Areas in Non-Transports

Meryn cited examples such as the use of chatbots in healthcare, telemedicine, and the question of further integration of the health number 1450. In contrast, as Foitik explained, employees in the rescue service "stand with one foot in criminality if we leave patients (at home, note) meaning not bringing them to a hospital." The Federal Rescue Commander: "We only have legal certainty with a transport to the hospital."

The ÖRK wants to change this, among other things, also from the perspective that hospital emergency departments should be relieved. A reform on a legal basis of the training and further education of medical personnel is necessary for this. According to the organization's ideas, this should be based on a four-level model. The first and lowest level is that of a medical or rescue assistant, who should support the execution of medical operations - for example, the classic patient transports. The second level - rescue paramedics - are then responsible for such operations.

Four-Level Model for Training Planned

The third level is the training to become an emergency paramedic, which according to Foitik should be thorough rather than quick "and with a lot of practice." They should then independently ensure the emergency medical care of patients - this includes inserting venous access - and in cases of immediate life danger, manage the care of patients together with emergency doctors. In the fourth level, these emergency paramedics can and should acquire additional competencies in the form of modules. These would be, for example, training for research, as teaching staff, ski patrol, first responder, for high-infection transports, hygiene sanitation, and much more. Foitik also clarified that the training and further education of emergency paramedics should not be academic, but "on the job" and very practice-oriented.

Relieving Ambulances Through New Deployment Models

Monika Stickler, Foitik's deputy, added that there is an idea to introduce ECTS points for the profession. This would also enable or facilitate the transition to other healthcare professions or from these into the medical and rescue services. It needs to be clarified what could be credited for which job. Stickler also pointed out that paramedics currently do not have professional protection. The be-all and end-all in training is practice, including training in hospitals: "You only get good if you have seen many patients," said Stickler.

Foitik also reported on a pilot project for the use of algorithms to determine whether and how urgently patients need hospital care. In this process, those to be treated are divided into five color-coded categories (from blue for no medically recognizable indication to green for treatment at some point to red for hospital transport as quickly as possible due to acute danger). This is also intended to relieve ambulances. "Since it is not used nationwide, we do not yet have exact figures. However, I would estimate that around a third of the patients who are taken to a hospital fall into the blue or green category," said the federal rescue commander.

Amendment Could Be Implemented Cost-Neutrally

The Red Cross places great hopes in the government, which has included the amendment of the SanG in its program for this legislative period. Also because the innovations would at least be cost-neutral, as Foitik explained. Higher training costs would be offset by savings because significantly fewer patients would be taken to hospitals. "It should not be forgotten that costs are currently rising," added Meryn, also referring to the demographic development, according to which Austria's population is aging.

About 60,000 employees in the medical and rescue services would be affected by an amendment to the SanG. More than 50,000 of them are Red Cross employees, and the vast majority of them are volunteers.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.