Advice for municipalities

With the increasing shortage of young doctors in recent years, ensuring local outpatient medical care is increasingly becoming a location factor for communities. In rural areas in particular, it is becoming apparent that doctors who are retiring are no longer able to find successors. Demographic change and changing entrepreneurial cultures in the freelance sector are among the causes of this development. The associations of statutory health insurance physicians are actually responsible for ensuring the provision of care, but these usually have a nationwide focus. In mid-2015, the legislator therefore reacted and opened up opportunities for local authorities to participate in the provision of outpatient care locally if they so wish.

Municipalities can now set up so-called medical care centers and thus participate as a new player in outpatient care provided by panel doctors.

However, it has already been possible to take action in advance and use a wide variety of options to try to encourage doctors to settle locally.

The goal of securing outpatient medical care in the community requires a specific regional approach with individual design solutions.

VOELKER has a team of qualified lawyers with many years of experience in medical law as well as in municipal commercial and tax law. We thus cover the interface between two highly regulated economic sectors with broad expertise. In addition, VOELKER's many years of experience in medical law have provided us with cooperation partners in the field of consulting and professional management of medical service providers and the recruitment of medical staff. On the other hand, there are also long-standing cooperations with municipal consultancies.

In such a network, we develop individual solutions for securing outpatient medical care in your local community.

VOELKER advises you in particular on

  • Cooperation with doctors willing to set up a practice

    • for example by leasing real estate

    • Taking over a practice in your own facility

    • Establishment of medical care centers

  • Assistance with the relevant licensing procedures

  • Municipal commercial law issues for the municipality's own outpatient activities

  • Cooperation with other service providers

  • (EU) state aid law issues

  • Tax issues

  • Organizational law issues relating to own outpatient activities

  • Labor law issues (TVÖD/ZVK)

  • Public procurement law

  • Data protection law