Laboratory referrals ban illegal says Berlin court:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The Berlin Land social court has upheld an earlier judgment that the ban (in place since April 1994) on laboratory referrals of category O I diagnostic testing procedures is illegal. Laboratory doctors in the nation's capital may, therefore, continue to perform O I tests on referral and claim reimbursement from the doctors' association, reports Arzte Zeitung. The court found that the ban infringed the laboratory doctors' constitutional right to professional freedom and equality. A further appeal against the judgment is permitted.