Austria COPD Index
Rank
(out of 24 countries)
17
Index Score
(out of 100)
64.31
Deaths
(as a % of overall deaths)
3.67%
Smoking Rate
26.4%
Societal Costs
(cost per person)
$812
Above average performance
Average performance
Below average performance
Access and Care Coverage in Austria is relatively high, due to strong conditions for COPD diagnosis, universal health care coverage, and telemedicine.
Access and Care Coverage in Austria is relatively high, due to strong conditions for COPD diagnosis, universal health care coverage, and telemedicine. Austria scores above average in the Environmental Factors category, due in part to a high score in the Indoor Air Quality indicator. Austria’s score in the Policy Context category is below average, mostly due to a lack of strong COPD guidelines and practices. However, Austria does report good performance in the Occupational Exposure Policy indicator. Austria scores above average in Health System Characteristics, mainly due to good health data collection and reporting, as well as a relatively good density of respiratory specialists and primary care physicians.
Key takeaways
Data from the COPD Index revealed the following takeaways regarding COPD care in Austria.
Highly accessible COPD diagnosis and management – 6th highest Access and Care Coverage score
Better adherence to COPD care guidelines and the development of a national plan for COPD would greatly improve Austria’s management of COPD
Lower than average disease burden score, which is aligned with a low COPD prevalence
Best Practices for COPD Care
Data from the COPD Index revealed the following best practices regarding COPD care in Austria.
Outpatient rehabilitation
Lung transplantation
Respiratory care in specialised units
Challenges
Data from the COPD Index revealed the following challenges regarding COPD care in Austria.
Need for more smoking cessation programs
Early diagnosis of COPD and case-finding
Mandatory spirometry is not available on general practitioner level
Availability of post-exacerbation rehab and out of hospital NIV service
Opportunities
Data from the COPD Index revealed the following opportunities regarding COPD care in Austria.
Increase international focus on lung health, patient support groups
Increase costs of tobacco products
More adherence to international guidelines
Add COPD screening to existing lung cancer screening approaches
Telemedicine
Priorities
Data from the COPD Index revealed the following priorities regarding COPD care in Austria.
Need for more public information about COPD (cause and burden)
Early detection with yearly spirometry for smokers
Increase price of tobacco products
Respiratory intensive care units
Compare Austria to other countries
Select different countries to see how they scored across each of the 5 categories and overall
Sources
You can view the data sources for this country HERE