Medical professionals in high demand: Subsidies help ease workforce shortage - Medical professionals in high demand amid alleviated obstacles
Addressing Doctor Shortage in Saxony-Anhalt:
Saxony-Anhalt, a German state, grapples with a shortage of medical professionals, particularly in regions like Altmark and the Börde. The regional Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KV) reports that a subsidy for doctors establishing practices in regions with shortages, implemented a year ago, has shown initial success.
The initiative, part of a joint effort by the state committee of doctors and health insurers, has allocated 2.52 million euros until June 30, 2026. By April 30, 2025, approximately 950,000 euros, or nearly 38% of the funds, had been disbursed. An additional 290,000 euros have been approved for more practice foundations.
The measure has led to anticipated improvements in eye care in the Altmark, pediatric care in the Börde region, and various areas of general medicine, as noted by a KV spokesperson. Recipients of the subsidy include two ophthalmologists in the Stendal district, 24 general practitioners in areas such as Bernburg, Köthen, and Osterburg, Salzwedel, Sangerhausen, and Zerbst, two pediatricians in the Börde district, and two child and adolescent psychiatrists.
Out of the 45 funding applications submitted, 29 were approved. A total of 45 funding applications were submitted, with 29 being approved, four rejected due to inconsistencies with the defined funding regions, and the remaining applications withdrawn by applicants.
Saxony-Anhalt anticipates around 520 positions may remain unfilled in five years, more than double the current number, including around 300 general practitioner positions. This is due to a third of doctors planning to retire by 2030, according to the KV. On the intake side, around 870 doctors are expected.
Future challenges include the trend among young doctors towards part-time work and a preference for employment over practice ownership. The KV concludes that contract medical care faces increasingly significant challenges as not enough doctors are joining to maintain the current level of care in the region.
To address these challenges, multiple strategies are being considered, including recruitment and retention incentives, education and training, improving infrastructure, and collaboration with other regions, as well as utilizing technology and telemedicine, regional development, international recruitment, government initiatives, and overcoming language and cultural barriers.
- The regional authority in Saxony-Anhalt, recognizing the importance of health-and-wellness, is deliberating on implementing community policy that includes vocational training programs for doctors, focusing on areas like general medicine, pediatric care, eye care, and child and adolescent psychiatry, to counter the anticipated shortage of medical professionals.
- In their quest to bolster the medical-conditions sector and promote science, Saxony-Anhalt is investigating various strategies such as vocational training, collaboration with other regions, government initiatives, and the use of technology and telemedicine, aiming to overcome language and cultural barriers, and enhance the attractiveness of full-time practice ownership over part-time employment for the next generation of doctors.
