The leading professional societies and associations of laboratory medicine have sent Federal Minister of Health Nina Warken and other top representatives of the medical profession an updated, 45-page position paper on the personal provision of medical laboratory services.

In it, the signatories emphasise that all laboratory services are medical services that must be provided under the overall personal responsibility of a doctor. Technical components may be delegated, but only under concrete and continuous supervision and professional instruction by the billing physician. A one-time selection of qualified personnel is not enough. The physician must personally supervise all relevant sub-steps of the provision of services – from the initial assessment of the sample material to quality assurance and the preparation of the medical report.

The associations ALM – Accredited Laboratories in Medicine e.V., BDL – Professional Association of German Laboratory Physicians e.V., BÄMI – Professional Association of Physicians for Microbiology, Virology and Infection Epidemiology e.V., DGKL – German Society for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine e.V., DGHM – German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology e.V. as well as the Society for Virology state that medically responsible laboratory diagnostics are an indispensable part of a high-quality patient care. This applies in particular to individualized and therapy-accompanying diagnostics.

The 2017 position paper has been revised due to changes in laws, ordinances and current case law. The signatories want to initiate a factual discussion on the preservation of the laboratory services for which doctors are responsible.

The letter from the initiators is dated April 22, 2026.

The core statements of the paper on the personal provision of medical laboratory services can be read in the original text below:

(1) All laboratory services are medical services.

(2) Laboratory services are provided by the physicians themselves; technical components can be used in the
within the framework of the legally permissible delegation, taking into account supervision and technical
instructions are carried out by qualified employees.

(3) The exercise of supervision shall be specific and continuous. It is not enough to
select one-time qualified medical or non-medical personnel and to benefit from it.
that the service shares that can be delegated are properly and in line with the
quality. The doctor must register for the full time of the
of laboratory services on an ongoing basis. The
constant medical presence is not absolutely necessary.

(4) The exercise of supervision shall ensure that all relevant sub-steps of the provision of
laboratory services. This includes the initial assessment of the sample material,
Sample preparation, conducting the examination with checking the equipment maintenance
as well as the measures for internal and external quality assurance in accordance with the specifications
of the Rili-BÄK, the personal accessibility to clarify problem cases, the personal
verification of the plausibility of the findings obtained from the test material as well as the
Preparation of the medical report. The exercise of supervision can only be achieved through regular
Presence of the billing doctor, even during the
Carrying out the investigation and the technical provision of services,
.

(5) In order to carry out the professional instructions, the physician needs the necessary
performance of the respective service, specifically necessary technical knowledge and
Skills that are demonstrably acquired in the course of training, further education and training
.

(6) The billing physician shall bear overall responsibility for the
and cannot transfer parts of it to other doctors.

(7) The billing physician fully complies with all legal requirements (e.g.
MPBetreibV) and the demands of the Rili-BÄK.

(8) The billing physician shall also be responsible for the provision of
Laboratory services in community facilities using common
rooms, equipment and personnel to fully fulfil the overall medical responsibility,
in particular the obligation to supervise and provide professional instructions.

(9) The employees entrusted with the implementation of the delegatable service components
and employees are subject to the individual instructions of the respective billing physician
and act under medical responsibility.

(10) The provision of services in community facilities continues to entail a high risk
that economic incentives lead to increased self-allocation.

Editor: X-Press Journalistenbüro GbR

Gender Notice. The personal designations used in this text always refer equally to female, male and diverse persons. Double/triple naming and gendered designations are used for better readability. ected.