"Uniting across borders for good health"

Through close cooperation between the Lower Austrian Melk clinical centre and the Znaim hospital, both of which are located near the border, the Melk clinic became the sole centre for endometriosis care in Lower Austria. One in ten women of childbearing age are affected by this chronic condition affecting the lining of the uterus. Symptoms include severe pain and difficulty having children. Women affected by the condition benefit from rapid diagnosis and treatment at the Melk clinic.

Other focal points of the project include:

• Cross-border cooperation between the Hollabrunn clinical centre in Lower Austria and the Znaim hospital in the radiotherapy specialism. The aim is to provide a defined number of patients with radiation oncology services at the Znaim hospital.
• Cross-border cooperation by the emergency services: Building a network to enable cooperation in handling emergencies, harmonising communication technology in emergency centres through changes to software and carrying out cross-border emergency drills

In 2008, Lower Austria launched the "Zdraví – Gesundheit" project in collaboration with the Southern Moravian Region, in which the initial steps were taken towards documenting the health care situation on both sides of the border, as well as cooperation between hospitals and the emergency services.

Project results:

• "Medical treatment in Europe" patient information leaflet
• "Your rights as an Austrian patient in the Czech Republic" for Austrian citizens and
  "Your rights as a Czech patient in Austria" patient information leaflets
• Lower Austria – South Moravian Region cross-border health report
• "Czech for the health care sector" phrasebook
• Situational analysis of potential cross-border cooperation between emergency services
• Instigation of a cross-border emergency services agreement

The predecessor to the "Zdraví – Gesundheit" project paved the way for long-term and sustainable cooperation in healthcare between Lower Austria and the South Moravian region for the benefit of the population and the regional economy. The project also aimed to increase equal access to health care services.

 "Health without borders" has built on these results and is widening out cooperation to other areas. The involvement of the Vysocina district is an example of this.

The project focuses on the following areas in particular:

• Human resources in the health care sector – analyses of Lower Austria, the South Moravian region and Vysocina
• Strategic opportunities for cross-border cooperation by hospitals
• Innovative solutions for the health care sector in relation to the issues of demographic change and the ageing population
  
  More information: http://www.zdravi-gesundheit.eu/