Stampa

ORDINE DEI MEDICI VETERINARI DI TORINO


PRESS RELEASE



PRESS RELEASE

Antitrust Authority Announces Order of Veterinarians to Abolish Minimum Tariffs and Limits on Advertising


PROCEEDINGS DISCONTINUED AGAINST PROFESSIONALS WHO ADVERTISED AND DID NOT APPLY SCALE FEES. THE AUTHORITY ACCEPTS AND MAKES OBLIGATORY THE COMMITMENTS PROPOSED TO CLOSE THE INVESTIGATION BEGUN ON 24 MAY 2006.


Freedom to advertise, cancellation of all disciplinary proceedings against veterinarians who promote their businesses or who do not apply scale fees, abolition of the tariff (scale of fees); changes to the whole professional code to bring it into line with competition principles: these are the commitments presented by the Order of Veterinarians of Turin and the Italian National Federation of Veterinary Orders, which have been accepted and rendered obligatory by the Antitrust Authority.

The Italian Competition Authority, at its meeting on 21 February, determined that the measures proposed by the two Orders satisfy the anti-competitive concerns raised in the investigation launched on 24 May 2006; consequently, that investigation has been concluded without the determination of a violation.
 
The proceeding was initiated by the Authority following receipt of a complaint from a practitioner who is the medical director of a veterinary surgery owned by an association serving animals and their owners; she was subjected to three disciplinary proceedings which led to her suspension from the profession. Amongst the benefits advertised by this veterinarian was the possibility of paying a fixed-price “ticket” for veterinary services.

Specifically, the Order of Turin:
1 ) has abolished, as of 30 November 2006, minimum fees and the ban on advertising of the type of services offered and their cost;
2) has undertaken not to establish minimum fees again in the future;
3) will not initiate disciplinary proceedings (and will discontinue any proceedings already under way) over violations of rules on fixed fees or limitations on advertising and will refrain from lending support to the notion that such activities are illicit in the disciplinary findings already handed down by the Council of the Order and which are pending before the central commission for healthcare professionals at the Ministry of Health.

The commitments presented by the National Order are as follows:
1) the substitution from 1 December 2006 of the relevant articles in the code of conduct so that veterinarians may advertise their professional qualifications and specialisations, the characteristics of the service they offer, their fees and the overall cost of a treatment;
2) the introduction of a single rule whereby the practitioner determines the professional fee with the client;
3) the abrogation of other regulations which conflict with competition, even if not included in this investigation, such as the specification of a minimum distance between veterinary surgeries;
4) submission to the Authority of any future changes to the code of conduct which may impinge on competition rules.




Rome, 7 March 2007