title: Unregulated access to health-care services is associated with overutilization--lessons from Austria.
abstract: The Austrian health-care system is characterized by free provider choice and uncontrolled access to all levels of care. Using primary data, the ECOHCARE study shows that hospitalization rates for the secondary and tertiary care levels in Austria are both 4.4 times higher than those reported from the USA using a similar methodology. At the same time, essential functions of the primary care sector are weak. We propose that regulating access to secondary and tertiary care and restricting free provider choice to the primary care level would both reverse over utilization and strengthen the primary care sector.
authors.affiliation: Department for General Practice and Family Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, A-1090 Wien, Austria otto.pichlhoefer@meduniwien.ac.at.
authors.forename: Otto
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Pichlhöfer
authors.affiliation: Department for General Practice and Family Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, A-1090 Wien, Austria.
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maier
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001317:Austria; D005260:Female; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000069342:Medical Overuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult