Criminal defense for Ärztliches Berufs- & Disziplinarrecht: Verfahren gegen Ärzte in Bonn

In brief: Overview of professional, disciplinary and contract-physician proceedings against doctors. The sentencing range is Overview (Überblick). What matters is the evidence – we assess it after obtaining the case file.

Legal Basis

Überblick

Sentencing Range

Overview

Summary

Overview of professional, disciplinary and contract-physician proceedings against doctors.

Professional and Disciplinary Law for Doctors – Overview

Doctors face a particular variety of proceedings: alongside the criminal case there are professional-court proceedings before the medical chamber, disciplinary proceedings of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KV), the withdrawal of the licence to treat statutory patients, and the revocation of the medical licence (Approbation). These proceedings interlock, and a single set of facts can trigger them at the same time. We represent members of the healthcare professions nationwide in all of these proceedings and think them through together from the outset.

Why doctors need a special defence

For members of the healthcare professions, far more is at stake than for other groups. A single matter – for example a billing allegation or a breach of professional duties – can simultaneously provoke a criminal, a contract-physician and a professional-law response, and a decision in one affects the others: a criminal conviction can cost the Approbation, a billing allegation the licence. An isolated view is therefore not enough.

The most important types of proceedings

Professional-court proceedings of the chamber (reprimand, fine, professional court); disciplinary proceedings of the KV under Section 81(5) SGB V; withdrawal of the contract-physician licence under Section 95(6) SGB V; revocation or suspension of the Approbation under the Federal Medical Regulation (BÄO); and criminal proceedings for billing fraud and corruption in healthcare (Sections 263, 299a, 299b StGB) with immediate professional-law consequences.

Our approach

We represent doctors, dentists, pharmacists and psychotherapists nationwide – in professional-court and disciplinary proceedings, in licensing and Approbation law, and in criminal proceedings with a healthcare connection. Our aim is to protect liberty and professional livelihood at the same time, through early access to the file, careful observance of deadlines and a strategy coordinated across all proceedings. To illustrate the rules we use the provisions and institutions of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) as an example throughout.

This overview is general in nature and cannot replace advice on the individual case.

Summons or accusation of Ärztliches Berufs- & Disziplinarrecht: Verfahren gegen Ärzte? What matters now

Two things matter immediately: say nothing to the police about the allegation – you are never obliged to – and have your defense obtain the investigation file first. In detail: your rights as an accused person, responding to a police summons.

Possible discontinuation of proceedings

Not every case ends in a trial. Depending on the evidence and any prior record, the proceedings may be discontinued for lack of sufficient suspicion (§ 170 II StPO), for triviality (§ 153 StPO) or subject to conditions (§ 153a StPO). Often a penalty order without a public trial can be achieved.

Victim-offender mediation and restitution

In many cases, victim-offender mediation or making good the damage (§ 46a StGB) can significantly reduce the sentence or enable a discontinuation. Whether this is advisable in your case is something we assess based on the file.

What we do after reviewing the file

We assess the evidence, look for procedural errors and negotiate with the prosecution about a discontinuation.

Available 24/7: +49 228 504 463 36

This information does not replace a review of the individual case. In criminal proceedings, the defense strategy depends substantially on the case file, the specific allegation and the evidence.