Medical Law
Medical law relates to all legal norms by which doctors and their professional activities are bound. It is not at all a ‘self-contained’ legal system – although separate laws and by-laws have been passed for this professional group. It is rather that Civil, Criminal, Social and Procedural Law also contain provisions which specifically address the medical profession. A solid knowledge of Tax and Company Law is also indispensable when setting up or dividing up a medical practice. Of increasing importance to doctors and hospitals is also the question what kind of advertising is permitted for their particular range of services. It is here that the Rules on Professional Conduct, the (German) Laws on Drug Advertising (HWG) and Unfair Competition (UWG) mesh together.
Ahlers & Vogel can provide assistance in all of the legal areas relevant to medical professionals. After many years of regularly representing and advising a number of large hospitals, private hospital operators and a large number of GPs, we have particular experience within this field.
Particular areas of expertise can be found in more detail in the menu on the left.
Medical Contract Law (in the past “Panel Doctors Law”) is one of the particularly complex areas of law given the obviously high number of reform laws and the variety of legal norms (laws, provisions, guidelines). At the same time, legal security in this field is of existential importance for the majority of resident doctors – for example, in connection with acquiring, obtaining or transferring the residence of a panel doctor and/or the supply mandate to a successor. With regard to such questions, you can rely on the the expertise and experience of our firm’s advice.
As equally valuable to clients are our personal contacts to employees and members of the management boards of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians at our offices in Bremen and Hamburg.
The basic idea of integrated care is that the health insurances arrange supply offers directly with a circle of healthcare providers; cross-sector (outpatient/hospitalized) and/or interdisciplinary. The providers may include resident panel doctors, joint practices, authorized hospital owners and/or medical-care centres. A whole new organisational concept is related to this which requires integrated medical thinking and acting from all parties involved. A general contractor assumes the supply responsibility and cooperates with other providers. Hospitals in particular, but also medical-care centres, bring along all requirements in order to be successful as “general contractors”. Resident physicians and joint practices benefit from strategic and economic advantages when participating in integrated care.
The access to integrated care requires speed, precision, caution and experience. With a team of specialists we can advise you on topics ranging from designing an integration model to the development of customized contracts and their implementation. We support all of our clients in regard to negotiations with health insurances.