Following the recent election, the Vienna Medical Association is now facing a change in leadership. Thomas Szekeres is likely to be replaced by Johannes Steinhart at its inaugural meeting on May 3. krone.at spoke with the Viennese doctor, who was responsible for the rapid delivery of protective clothing and disinfectants to doctors at the start of the pandemic, about corona policy, mandatory vaccination – and how important doctors are for our society, not just in times of a pandemic.
crown.at: Dr. Steinhart, what are the key principles you would like to bring to the Medical Association?
Johannes Steinhart: Basically we want to keep the theme of the free doctor, which is that decisions are made primarily according to medical principles and that political and economic influences are secondary. The patient has the right to be treated by someone who makes decisions based on medical premises. This is a major benefit of our health system and should in any case be preserved. There are a lot of influences raining down on our healthcare system right now – and the only main concern should really be treating the patient.
How do you see current corona management in politics?
I would like to see less political and more expert decisions on this point.
What do you think of the mandatory vaccination?
Vaccination is important and also helps, you have to be very clear about that. But the way people have tried to introduce mandatory vaccination has failed.
Doctors and medical staff often complain about working conditions. What would your demands be on the politics here to improve it?
First you have to show the value of doctors again, here specific services are provided with a specific meaning for patients. The main responsibility for this lies with our profession. One point here is therefore the promotion of the profession itself, but also the motivation of young colleagues. Preconditions must be created that enable them to practice this profession properly.
For example, what would that be?
On the one hand, family-friendliness, on the other hand, the space for design must correspond to the responsibility of the physician – and services must also be recognized financially, because this is where essential services for people are delivered! And you have to empower the doctors to bring quality medicine to the patient.
Source: Krone
I’m an experienced news author and editor based in New York City. I specialize in covering healthcare news stories for Today Times Live, helping to keep readers informed on the latest developments related to the industry. I have a deep understanding of medical topics, including emerging treatments and drugs, the changing laws that regulate healthcare providers, and other matters that affect public health.
