Background

Austria is facing a shortage of family physicians, with the baby-boomer generation of practitioners reaching retirement age and Family Medicine losing attractiveness as a specialisation. The necessity of taking measures is increasing, though tackling these issues has proven difficult. This is partly due to fragmentation of responsibilities in the Austrian health system, resulting in uncoordinated measures based on incomprehensive analysis.
In a joint effort a team generated from scientific societies, universities and the chamber of physicians approached this problem in a coordinated and cooperative manner.

Methodology

In a stepwise approach we extracted measures to increase attractiveness of general practice from a recent literature review and a survey on motivational factors among students and young doctors. These were prioritised and completed by an online survey collecting expertise from GP-leaders from all Austrian regions and medical universities. Thus  solutions already implemented on a local or regional level could be included. In an online-based process a team of authors formulated a first draft which was discussed and refined in several focus group discussions.

Results

The process yielded a list of 35 measures in six categories, that were deemed reasonable and promising in the Austrian context.

Conclusion

The problem of recruitment and retainment in general practice is multi-faceted and needs a  comprehensive approach on multiple levels. A united voice of family medicine from all areas of representation can help to facilitate such an effort.