[Criminal law aspects in the medical field].

The legal framework in Switzerland regarding medicine and health care is complex. Switzerland doesn't have a specific federal law on medicine or health care. Instead, numerous legal provisions apply to very different medical and health care situations.

HTA and its legal issues: a framework for identifying legal issues in health technology assessment.

Objectives: Legal analysis can highlight important issues that are relevant when deciding whether a medical technology should be implemented or reimbursed. Literature and studies show that even though the law is an acknowledged part of health technology assessment (HTA), legal issues are rarely considered in practice. One reason for this may be the lack of knowledge about the diversity of legal issues that are relevant for HTA.

The role of skin self-examination at the Swiss skin cancer day.

Background: The rising incidence of melanoma - Switzerland has the highest incidence in Europe - is a major public health challenge. Swiss dermatologist introduced the "Swiss Skin Cancer Day" (SSCD) in 2006, which provides skin cancer screening at no costs. The aim of the study was to describe the participating subjects and their motivation and investigate factors influencing the probability of a clinical diagnosis of skin malignancy.

Safety of acupuncture: results of a prospective observational study with 229,230 patients and introduction of a medical information and consent form.

Background: To evaluate the safety of acupuncture in a large number of patients receiving conventional health care and, based on these results, to develop a new medical consent form for acupuncture.

Methods: The prospective observational study included patients who received acupuncture treatment for chronic osteoarthritis pain of the knee or hip, low back pain, neck pain or headache, allergic rhinitis, asthma, or dysmenorrhoea. After treatment, all patients documented adverse events associated with acupuncture (defined as adverse effects).

Legal concerns trigger prostate-specific antigen testing.

Background: In the United States, lawsuits against physicians have had an impact on their behaviour, resulting in overdiagnosis and other forms of 'defensive medicine'. Does a similar situation exist in Switzerland? Using prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening as an example, we surveyed Swiss physicians and assessed the extent to which liability fears influenced their recommendation for testing.

Methods: At a continuing medical education conference we distributed a pilot-tested questionnaire to 552 participants.