Patients in Austria wait up to 65 days for specialist consultations, and many practices are no longer accepting new patients

Patients in Austria wait an average of 34 days for a specialist consultation in the public healthcare system, according to a study conducted between May and September 2026. The longest wait, 65 days, was recorded for internal medicine—a record level for the research cited.

The situation is also difficult in other specialties. Patients wait 50 days for neurology and 45 days for cardiology. In addition, around one-third of public practices no longer accept new patients, forcing people to contact several doctors before securing an appointment.

Regional differences are considerable. In Vienna, the median waiting time is 22 days, while in Burgenland it reaches 53 days and in Vorarlberg 46 days. In certain regions and specialties, waits are even longer: 88 days for urology in Styria and 78 days for internal medicine in Upper Austria.

The study, based on 1,601 appointment requests, included routine and preventive consultations, not emergencies. In eight of the specialties analyzed, waiting times increased compared with the previous year. Patients who cannot afford to wait are pushed toward private healthcare, where consultations must be paid for directly or through supplementary insurance.