Quality assurance in psychosomatic medicine in Austria is currently based on a voluntary continuing medical education programme in psychosocial, psychosomatic and psychotherapeutic medicine. It is questionable whether psychosomatic care can be sufficiently provided in this manner. In addition, a broadly based proposal to create a subspecialty in psychosomatic medicine in order to facilitate quality assurance, is investigated. The necessity to reorganize psychosomatic care was explored through semi-structured qualitative interviews with experts. Data-based analyses probed the labour market of the proposed subspecialty, and the literature was reviewed to look into the cost-benefit ratio of psychosomatic treatment. All experts expressed a need to restructure psychosomatic care in Austria. Examples exist for psychosomatic treatment with an efficient cost-benefit relation in diverse medical settings.
Establishing a subspecialty in Psychosomatic Medicine seems feasible and could contribute to increased quality assurance and the nationwide provision of psychosomatic care.
Is there adequate care for patients with psychosomatic disorders in Austria?