[Sponsoring of physicians in private practice]

The financing of advanced medical training for physicians by the pharmaceutical industry has been the subject of legal discussions for more than two decades. Recent legal changes have renewed the importance of industry sponsoring. At the 106th national convention of the German physicians, the model ordinance for the German medical profession ("Musterberufsordnung für die deutschen Arztinnen und Arzte-MBO-A") has been reformed, and for the first time individual physicians are now permitted, under certain circumstances, to receive financial support from sponsors to participate in medical-training events. A recent legal reform to modernize the healthcare system ("GKV-Modernisierungsgesetz"--GMG) obliges physicians to observe the law that regulates advertising of medicinal products ("Heilmittelwerbegesetz"--HWG); consequently, the physicians can commit a misdemeanor when accepting prohibited financial support. This essay discusses the implications of this legal reform for the most important types of commercially-sponsored medical training. The GMG reform has introduced an obligation for physicians to absolve continuous medical training, however the resulting legal situation has not changed the requirement that this training remain free of commercial interests.