title: [Competition and the legal ramifications of physician advertising].
abstract: Various healthcare reforms have spurred the idea of competition among physicians. As physicians compete for a limited pool of patients advertising has become commonplace. No longer considered an unethical practice, the legal aspects of physician advertising have transformed over the years. The present article describes current laws and statutes regulating physician advertising in Germany. Especially any advertisement likely to mislead or deceive because of a failure to disclose material facts is prohibited. Important cases of German jurisdiction concerning physician advertising are given.
authors.affiliation: Arztekammer Westfalen-Lippe, Münster. koch@aekwl.de
authors.forename: Bertram F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Koch
mesh_terms: D000329:Advertising / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D001675:Bioethics / Q000639:trends; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D010820:Physicians / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014342:Truth Disclosure / Q000941:ethics