Legal Aspects

We are always happy to receive you as a patient at the OZM. We are also happy to point out that as a patient in our Centre you have the power of your own free and independent decision as to whether you accept your treatment or go ahead with the course of treatment proposed by our specialists. Thus you are perfectly within your rights to decide not to go ahead with the operation we have recommended to the best of our conscience, even if we consider it as necessary from a medical standpoint. For the case that you decide for a course of medical treatment in the Orthopädisches Zentrum, insurance purposes and legal reasons alone require you to give us a Written Declaration of Consent.

We gladly assure you that we will do everything in our power and to the best of our knowledge and ability to ensure the smooth and trouble-free conduct of the operation planned for you. In terms of an international comparison, the extremely low risk rate of the OZM shows that our efforts to this end have been successful, yet even so we cannot completely rule out the possibility of error. To ensure that, should the worst happen, both you and we are covered by liability insurance, insurance companies now require that you sign a Patient Information Sheet.

In the light of the reasons cited above, this is why, in addition to the spoken information about your forthcoming operation you will receive during your consultation appointments, you will also be given a written Patient Information Sheet about the further course of the treatment planned for you. This document enables you to consider at your own convenience the information you have received about the procedure and aim of the operation, the chances of success, the associated risks and possible alternatives, so that you can form your own decision without being under any form of pressure. This is why we ask you to read the Patient Information Sheet very carefully. We will gladly answer any questions you might have arising from it and our Secretariat will be happy to arrange another consultation appointment for you if you feel that this is necessary in order for you to reach your decision.

If after careful consideration you should decide against a course of treatment, we ask you to inform our Secretariat about this immediately.

In all other cases we expect you to return us the Patient Information Sheet with your signature at least 24 hours before your operation (in the case of minors / wards the signature must be that of the person’s legal representative).

To return the form you can use the stamped self-addressed envelop we enclose with it. In the event that the signed form reaches us after expiry of the deadline, we reserve the right – naturally after prior consultation with you by telephone – to strike your operation from our programme schedule. Any costs arising from this will be borne by you.

Thank you for your kind co-operation.