[Establishment of branch practices in the German healthcare system].

The physicians in the German out-patient healthcare system are normally bound to treat their patients in locally-registered practices. Exceptions to this commitment are external practice rooms and branch practices. For special services, a physician can run external rooms close to his practice. Branch practices, in contrast, have to be authorized by the regional physicians' association. The requisites in this respect are concretely defined (and partially increased) in a new regulation within the federal framework agreements. The authorization obligation applies also to the establishment of branch practices in medical care centers.