Can Cross-Border Healthcare Be Sustainable? An Example from the Czech-Austrian Borderland

Abstract

Cross-border public services are considered to be one of the possible tools to eliminate the periphery position of border regions. The Czech part of the Gmünd/České Velenice divided twin town faces the problem of very distant healthcare, as the closest hospital on its side of the border is at around a 50 min car-drive, whereas the hospital in Austrian Gmünd is within several minutes reach. This paper analyses whether cross-border healthcare provision could help to eliminate this problem. It describes the EU legislative framework for the cross-border healthcare provision and states that it has been rather underused until now, with a minor exception of the situation between European Communities’ founding members. In the Gmünd/České Velenice context, the functional partnership run by the Lower Austria as the key actor was created. Its ability to use the INTERREG programme has helped to create conditions for a sustainable cross-border healthcare, but only as a partial solution restricted on an outpatient care. The main identified barriers are of administrative nature. To a partial surprise of authors, the mental barrier plays a minor role and could be overcome by systemic measures implemented by partners of this initiative.