Support & FAQ

Questions and answers on important topics related to the medudoc platform, Patient Education, Informed Consent and more.

Patient Education is the central medical duty to inform patients about the type, purpose, risks, alternatives, consequences and urgency of treatment before an intervention.
It is a basic prerequisite for effective informed consent.

Legal basis Austria

  • § Section 49 (2) ÄrzteG – Duty to provide complete, comprehensible information
  • § 5 Hospitals and Health Resorts Act (KAKuG) – Patients’ rights
  • § Section 1325 ABGB – Compensation in the event of disclosure errors
  • Established case law of the Supreme Court on clarification, documentation, burden of proof

Legal basis Germany

  • Established BGH case law on the duty of disclosure
  • §§ Sections 630a-630h BGB – Treatment contract, information, documentation
  • Patients’ Rights Act 2013

Informed consent is the patient’s valid agreement to a medical intervention after he or she has received and understood all essential information.

Germany:

Legal basis: Sections 630d, 630e BGB.

Austria:

Derivation from ABGB (§§ 110, 1325 ABGB) + Supreme Court case law (analogy to BGB).

Without informed consent, any intervention would be a bodily injury.

Germany

  • Reversal of the burden of proof according to § 630h BGB
  • Liability for damages and compensation for pain and suffering
  • Criminal relevance in cases of gross negligence
  • Lack of documentation = error in clarification
  • BGH: Lack of proof of clarification → case is usually lost by the court.

Austria

  • Claim for damages according to § 1325 ABGB
  • Liability of the facility and the person providing treatment
  • Consequences of disciplinary law / ÄrzteG
  • Supreme Court regularly rules in favor of the patient in cases of uncertainty of evidence
  • OGH Guideline: What is not documented is deemed not to have taken place.

Common requirements Germany + Austria

  • Individualized: Patient-specific risks must be addressed.
  • Timely: No information “shortly before the procedure”.
  • Understandable: Layman-friendly, without technical jargon.
  • Dialogic: Personal doctor-patient consultation obligatory.
  • Documented: Complete, traceable documentation.

Germany (BGH)

Special emphasis on:

  • economic enlightenment
  • Therapeutic education
  • Self-determination education

Austria (OGH)

Special emphasis on:

  • Duty to inquire: The doctor must ensure that the patient understands.
  • Risk disclosure
  • Urgency and alternatives

Digital processes reduce traditional sources of error and increase process quality.

Advantages that are legally relevant in both countries:

✓ Standardized mandatory content
Meets the completeness requirements of BGH and OGH case law.

✓ Individualized educational videos
Meet the criterion “tailored to the individual situation”.

✓ Verifiable documentation
Time stamp, versioning and confirmation can be used in court.

✓ Comprehensibility through visual presentation
Media-supported information facilitates proof of understanding (BGH and OGH value comprehensibility highly).

✓ Relief for medical staff
Digitalization covers standard modules, doctors focus on individual topics.

Practical: medudoc usually saves 15-30 minutes per patient.

No.
Neither in Germany nor in Austria does a video replace a personal consultation with a doctor.

Legal situation:

  • DE: § 630e BGB requires a personal interview.
  • AT: OGH and § 49 ÄrzteG require an “individual consultation”.

However, digital content may:

  • prepare
  • structure
  • ensure completeness
  • Increase comprehensibility
  • Support documentation

→ They are a legally compliant supplementary element, not a replacement.

Demonstrable advantages:

  • Presentation of individual risk factors
  • Mapping of patient-specific OR scenarios
  • Adaptation to languages, health literacy, learning style
  • Reproducible evidence in court
  • Higher patient compliance & understanding

Courts value media if they demonstrably increase quality and comprehensibility.

Common denominator Germany + Austria:

Patients must understand the content, otherwise the consent is invalid.

Classic solution:

  • qualified interpreters
  • Interpreters must be neutral and professionally qualified
  • Relatives only permitted as interpreters in exceptional cases
  • Documentation of the interpreting assignment required

AI-based real-time translation from medudoc

  1. GDPR-compliant (EU region, no third countries)
  2. Accurate medical terminology
  3. Doctor checks and confirms comprehensibility
  4. Data processing minimal, secure, auditable
  5. Conversation is saved

In Germany:

Mandatory contents according to § 630f BGB:

  • Time
  • Contents
  • Materials (videos, forms)
  • Questions from the patient
  • Confirmation from the doctor
  • Consent

In Austria:

Based on OGH and ÄrzteG:

  • Comprehensible documentation of all risks
  • Personal conversation content
  • Media used
  • Questions from the patient
  • Documentation of the assurance of understanding

Digital systems such as medudoc deliver automatically:

  • Tamper-proof versioning
  • Timestamp
  • Traceability
  • Evidence of the promotion of understanding

Because digital systems take over the repetitive part.
Doctors get directly involved in individual and critical aspects.

effects per patient:

  • 15-30 minutes less time required
  • fewer form errors
  • fewer queries
  • Better compliance and less follow-up information
  • Relief for care, assistance & administration

Do you have any questions?

Then please do not hesitate to contact us at any time. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have about our platform and the legal framework associated with our platform.

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