General Terms and Conditions
The following text has been translated from German into English. In the event of any discrepancies, the German version shall be legally binding.
1. scope of application
1.1. These General Terms and Conditions (GTC) govern the legal relationship between the operator of the medical center ST Healthcare GmbH, FN 501447y, Auerspergstraße6/1 in 1030 Vienna, (hereinafter referred to as the “Operator”) and the patients who make use of the medical services of the elective physicians working at the medical center.
1.2. All doctors working at the medical center are Elective doctors within the meaning of §§ 131 in conjunction with § 135 ASVG and carry out their activities independently. The operator provides the spatial, technical and organizational infrastructure as well as administrative services.
1.3. The GTC apply in the version valid at the time the contract is concluded and are made available to the patient before the contract is concluded. They are also displayed on the premises of the operator and can be accessed on the website.
2. legal relationship between patient, elective physician, consulted physicians and operator
2.1. The treatment contract is concluded exclusively between the patient and the respective elective doctor. The medical responsibility lies solely with the treating doctor of choice. The elective doctor must provide the services assumed under the treatment contract with the care expected of a prudent and conscientious average doctor in the specific situation; he is therefore subject to the increased standard of care of the expert in accordance with § 1299 ABGB. He undertakes to provide diagnosis, information, advice and therapy in accordance with the recognized rules of medical science and in accordance with the objective state of his specialty. A cure or a specific treatment success is not guaranteed; only a lege-artis treatment is owed.
2.2. The doctor of choice may call in suitable independent doctors or other specialists to provide services. If – after the patient has been expressly informed in advance about the person and area of responsibility of the specialist called in – the treatment is carried out in whole or in part by such an independent doctor, a separate treatment contract is concluded directly between the patient and the doctor called in with regard to these services provided under his own responsibility; the doctor of choice is not liable for his own misconduct, but the doctor called in is. If no such clear explanation is provided, the original attending physician remains the contractual partner; in this case, he/she is liable for any treatment errors of the appointed physician as for his/her own fault.
2.3. The operator is not a contractual partner for medical treatment, but acts as an administrative service provider for the elective doctor, taking care of appointment organization, patient communication, billing and payment processing.
2.4. The operator has a power of attorney for collection granted by the elective physicians working at the medical center. This entitles the operator to collect all fees from patients, their insurers or other payers, to issue invoices, to accept and book payments and to take the necessary collection measures in the name and for the account of the respective elective doctor.
2.5. The patient expressly acknowledges that all payments for medical services are to be made exclusively to the operator and can only be made to the operator in discharge of debt.
3. making and canceling appointments
3.1. Appointments can be made in person, by telephone or online.
3.2. Appointments that cannot be kept must be canceled at least 24 hours in advance. If the appointment is not canceled in good time, the elective doctor is entitled to charge a cancellation fee of € 60, unless the patient can prove that no or significantly less damage has been incurred.
3.3. The operator reserves the right to postpone or cancel appointments for organizational or medical reasons; in this case, the patient will be informed immediately.
4 Fee and terms of payment
4.1. The medical services provided are invoiced in accordance with the fee schedule of the respective elective doctor.
4.2. Based on the collection authorization, the operator is entitled to issue invoices in the name of the elective doctor and to handle the entire billing process.
4.3. Unless otherwise agreed, the fee is immediately after performance due for payment.
4.4. Payments can be made in cash, by debit/credit card or by bank transfer to the account specified by the operator.
4.5. The patient is responsible for asserting any claims for reimbursement against their health insurance. The operator supports the patient by issuing an elective doctor’s invoice with all the necessary details.
5. default of payment
5.1. In the event of late payment, interest on arrears shall be charged at the statutory rate in accordance with § 1333 ABGB.
5.2. The patient shall bear all appropriate and reasonable reminder and collection expenses, insofar as these are necessary for appropriate legal action.
6. confidentiality
6.1. The operator is subject to the medical duty of confidentiality in accordance with §§ 54 of the Austrian Medical Practitioners Act (ÄrzteG) and the relevant provisions of the Austrian Hospital and Health Resort Act (KAKuG). The operator provides patients with information on the protection and use of patient data in the form of a data protection declaration.
6.2. The patient authorizes the operator to provide its social and private insurers with all information required to obtain declarations of assumption of costs and for billing purposes – including the transmission of copies of the medical history including findings. This authorization also applies mutatis mutandis to public law institutions (such as the patient ombudsman’s office), administrative and civil courts and other bodies entitled to inspect and any arbitration board called upon by the operator or the patient.
6.3 The patient agrees to the automated processing of his/her personal data and the forwarding of such data to the payers providing full or partial coverage for him/her and to the fee clearing office.
7. data protection
7.1. The operator processes patients’ personal data, including health data, exclusively to the extent permitted by law and in accordance with the provisions of the GDPR and the DSG.
7.2. Data processing is carried out in particular for appointment management, fee invoicing, payment processing, patient communication and to fulfill legal documentation and retention obligations.
7.3. The patient has the right to information, correction, deletion, restriction of processing and data portability at any time within the framework of the legal requirements. Further information can be found in the operator’s privacy policy.
7.4. A separate privacy policy is deemed to have been agreed.
8. liability
8.1. The attending elective doctor is exclusively liable for medical services in accordance with the relevant statutory provisions.
8.2. The operator is only liable for damages caused by intentional or grossly negligent behavior of its bodies or employees. Liability for slight negligence is not excluded in the event of breach of primary contractual obligations or injury to life, limb or health.
8.3. The operator accepts no liability for postponements, technical faults or other organizational circumstances, unless these were caused by gross negligence or intent.
8.4. No liability is accepted for valuables (in particular cash, jewelry, electronic devices) that are not taken into the premises of the operator – except in cases of intent or gross negligence.
9. house rules
9.1. Patients must observe the operator’s house rules. These are displayed on the premises.
9.2. The operator is entitled to exclude patients from treatment who significantly disrupt operations or endanger staff or other patients.
10 Applicable law and place of jurisdiction
10.1. Austrian law shall apply exclusively, excluding its conflict of law rules and the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.
10.2. For actions against consumers within the meaning of the KSchG, the statutory place of jurisdiction shall apply. For entrepreneurs, the place of jurisdiction shall be the registered office of the operator.
11. final provisions
11.1. Amendments or additions to these GTC must be made in writing. The patient shall be notified in writing of any amendments or additions to these GTC and shall be deemed to have approved them if the patient does not object in writing within four weeks of receipt or makes use of the operator’s services after receipt of the amendments.
11.2. Should individual provisions of these GTC be or become invalid in whole or in part, the validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected. The invalid provision shall be replaced by a legally permissible provision that comes closest to the economic purpose.