Articles from Dr. Ulrike Brucklacher

Am 4. April 2025 lud die BioRegio STERN Management GmbH gemeinsam mit VOELKER & Partner Rechtsanwälte Wirtschaftsprüfer Steuerberater mbB zu einem interaktiven Seminar nach Stuttgart ein. Rund 30 Teilnehmende aus der Medizintechnikbranche – von Start-ups bis zu etablierten Unternehmen – kamen im Raum Gutbrod in der Friedrichstraße zusammen, um sich umfassend über die Erstattungsfähigkeit von Medizinprodukten und Diagnostika im deutschen Gesundheitssystem zu informieren.

Outpatient specialist care (ASV) offers the opportunity to overcome the sector boundaries between outpatient and inpatient care. The aim of ASV is to diagnose and treat complex, difficult-to-treat diseases that require special qualifications, interdisciplinary cooperation and special technical equipment.

The doctor's letter is basically used for the targeted exchange of information between the doctors providing treatment or continuing treatment. As a result of the Act to Accelerate Digitalization in the Healthcare System (Digital-Gesetz DigiG), all doctors and facilities participating in SHI-accredited medical care are now obliged to be able to receive electronic doctor's letters (eDoctors' letters) by 30 June 2024 at the latest.

In its ruling dated April 4, 2024 (case no. III ZR 38/23), the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) made a fundamental decision on the German Medical Fee Schedule (GOÄ) and thus on flat-rate medical fees. The highest court has thus ruled that the GOÄ always applies to medical services provided on an outpatient basis.

What should be done if the MD determines that the requirements of an emergency level are not met?

The legally compliant agreement and billing of elective services repeatedly causes difficulties for hospital operators. It is particularly annoying when patients can refuse to pay for elective services for formal reasons because no effective contract has been concluded. For this reason, particular importance should be attached to the formal conclusion of a contract with the patient.

The Federal Supreme Court has now ruled on an all too tiresome issue: a practice can demand a cancellation fee from a patient who does not show up for an agreed treatment appointment or cancels it at short notice (provided certain conditions are met).

Legacy devices may continue to be placed on the market in accordance with the new transitional provisions of the MDR (Art. 120 MDR) since the amending regulation of the MDR of 23.03.2023 if and as long as no significant change in the intended purpose or design has been made. Against the background of the new Art. 120 para. 3c lit. b MDR, the question therefore arises as to when a change in the intended purpose or design is "substantial".

In its ruling of 27.04.2022 (B 1 KR 15/21 R), the BSG ruled that hospitals may not outsource essential services of their care mandate to third parties: