The availability of medicines in general

Austria keeps a list of pharmaceutical products for which expenses are covered by the health care system. Nevertheless, patients and carers need to cover part of the costs of medicines. This charge is currently set at € 4.60 per item prescribed. For infectious diseases and in cases of need, medicines may be free of charge.[1]

The availability of Alzheimer treatments

All four anti-dementia drugs are available to patients in Austria and are included on the list of pharmaceutical products that are covered by the health care system.

Prescription is limited to specialist doctors and this applies to both treatment initiation, as well as to continuing treatment decisions. For the prescription of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, an MMSE is required. Treatment with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors is limited to people with an MMSE between 26 and 10, whereas treatment with memantine is reimbursed for patients scoring between 14 and 3 on this scale.

Medicines for people living alone and for people in nursing homes are also covered by the health care system, nevertheless the Austrian Alzheimer Association pointed out that the treatment of people in nursing homes was limited by the medicines budgets of the nursing homes in question.

The Austrian Alzheimer Association also pointed out that bi-therapy with an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor and memantine was specifically excluded from reimbursement in Austria and that patients would have to pay for one of the drugs in that case.

[1] European Commission (2006): MISSOC – Mutual information system on social protection : Social protection in the Member States of the European Union, of the European Economic Area and in Switzerland : Comparative tables