Teleclinic in Bavaria: Court halts parts of the offer – Appeal announced

The Munich Social Court has prohibited the telemedicine provider Teleclinic from offering key elements of its business model as part of statutory health care in Bavaria. In a ruling on April 29, 2025, the court declared the digital patient file, mandatory registration, the lack of a free choice of doctor, and a usage-based remuneration model for doctors to be inadmissible. Certain advertising claims were also objected to.

The ruling (case reference: S 56 KA 325/22) is not yet legally binding. The Kassenärztliche Vereinigung Bayerns (KVB - Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians in Bavaria) had brought the case, which sees the ruling as an important step towards greater legal certainty in telemedicine. Teleclinic has announced that it will lodge an appeal.

Court bans key elements of the service

Among other things, the Social Court prohibited Teleclinic from using its patient file for doctors, the mandatory patient registration for use, the lack of selection of specific doctors when booking appointments, a violation of the right to free choice of doctor. The automatic advance transmission of symptom descriptions without express consent after the start of the video consultation, the preliminary medical examination of online questionnaires, and a pricing model based on billing figures for doctors.

The KVB emphasized that commercial providers such as Teleclinic may, in principle, participate in the provision of contracted medical care – but only in compliance with the applicable rules. “The ruling is an important step towards maintaining legal certainty in telemedicine,” explained the KVB board member.

Teleclinic rejects criticism and announces appeal

In a statement to heise online, Teleclinic emphasizes that the ruling only affects the service in Bavaria and has no impact on nationwide services. The platform can still be used in Bavaria. “In our view, the ruling falls short in several areas,” said the company, which has been in a legal dispute with KVB since 2022.

Teleclinic points out that many of the points complained about have since been adjusted, such as the choice of doctors when booking appointments. In addition, all quality standards for video consultations set out in Annex 31c of the Federal Mantelvertrag for physicians are met, including data protection requirements and initial medical assessments. According to the company, the court also dismissed the KVB's lawsuit on several points.

The company also criticized that the ruling did not sufficiently consider nationwide regulations and announced that it would defend its own legal position in the appeal proceedings. “Our aim is to establish video consultations as a fixed and legally secure component of outpatient care,” said Teleclinic.

(mack)