MAY 2020 – In Austria the resumption of activity is ongoing and private clinics choose different strategies to renew with a normal operating mode. Private clinics have been affected by the crisis in very different ways. Some establishments have been involved in the national emergency plan and have played a key role in it, like the PemiQaMed hospitals in Vienna.
Public hospitals of the Vienna Hospital Association (KAV) and the Viennese clinics of the PremiQaMed Group have joined forces during the Corona crisis, securing together the medical care of the inhabitants of the City of Vienna. “Keeping the health system efficient in the fight against the corona pandemic must remain a top priority. However, we should not forget that there are also patients with other acute conditions that need to be treated. We are part of the health care system of the Viennese population – we face up to this responsibility even in these challenging times and make an important contribution with our cooperation”, emphasized Julian Hadschieff, CEO of the PemiQaMed Group during a press conference on 18 April 2020 .
The PremiQaMed Group has provided capacities to relieve the KAV hospitals and the private hospitals Döbling, Confraternität and Goldenes Kreuz have taken over urgently needed operations from the KAV hospitals. “The KAV is currently pooling all its resources to deal with the corona crisis. However, this should not be at the expense of the entire health system in the long run,” said Vienna’s City Councilor Peter Hacker,”therefore, in the future there will be the possibility to refer patients from the municipal hospitals to private hospitals for treatment.”
Cooperation enables faster OP appointments for necessary operations
“We will treat patients from the KAV hospitals who are not infected with COVID-19 and who require urgent surgery” informed Werner Fischl, Managing Director of the PremiQaMed private clinics, “together we are taking the important step to relieve the KAV hospitals and to reduce the increasing waiting times for pain patients due to the corona-related capacity bottlenecks. Patients will be treated in the general fee class, so they do not need supplementary health insurance.”
