The influence of the decision of the Federal Administrative Court on physiotherapists (Case number 3 C 19/08, verdict from 26.08.2009). Relationship of the Non-Medical Practioners Act and the Rescue Assistants Act in the setting of emergency rescue service competence

A functonally competent rescue service is unthinkable without the inclusion of emergency physicians. However, emergency patients are often treated by non-medical personnel alone, at least during the initial stages. This raises the question of the applicability of the Non-Medical Practitioners Act (HPG) to non-medical personnel within the framework of so-called emergency competence. It is therefore conceivable that rescue assistants, paramedics and rescue helpers fulfil the prerequisites of §5 of the HPG when they practice medicine at the emergency scene without being a physician, contrary to §1 para 1 HPG in connection with §2 para 1 of the Federal Medical Practitioners Act. The profession of rescue assistant is assigned to the group of paramedical professions so that the assumption of a speciality relationship of the Rescue Assistants Act to the HPG is not given. The principles established by the Federal Administrative Court for the applicability of the reservation of permission to the professional practice of physiotherapists according to §1 para 1 HPG are largely applicable to rescue assistants. The activity within the framework of emergency competence still lies at the level of justification so that the prerequisites for a justifiable emergency in the sense of §34 of the penal code must be present. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.