Legal basis of medical practice

Everyday medical practice is subject to many legal conditions. It is often difficult for a medical doctor to get a clear picture of the relevant legal texts; the general legal regulations also frequently prove to be too vague for one to be able to derive concrete behavioural guidelines from them.

With the brochure «Legal basis of medical practice», the SAMS and the Swiss Medical Association (FMH) aim to provide support in this connection. The brochure appears as the second publication in a SAMS series, in the framework of which various manuals for use in medical practice are published. It also replaces the «Vademecum for the Swiss physician» of the FMH.

This manual is intended to provide the readers with a summary of those legal regulations which are relevant for everyday medical practice. Its value in everyday practice lies in the fact that it answers frequent and common questions simply and in an application-oriented manner. Legal texts and judgements are updated to March 2008.