PRESS RELEASE

PROFESSIONAL ORDERS: THE ANTITRUST AUTHORITY LAUNCHES A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION AGAINST THE ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICIANS AND DENTISTS FOR AN ALLEGED AGREEMENT RESTRICTING COMPETITION

According to many reports lodged by individual professionals and networks of dentists’ surgeries, and a report submitted by Groupon, the association’s deontological code allegedly limits individual professionals’ right for self-advertisement.

In a meeting on 03^rd September 2013, the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato resolved to launch a preliminary investigation so as to verify if the National Association of Physicians and Dentists (Fnomceo), through its Deontological Code and guidelines, has unjustifiably limited the use of advertisement on behalf of individual professionals and the networks of dentists’ surgeries, infringing community rules as regards agreements restricting competition.

According to the Antitrust Authority, the rules on advertisement provided for by the Deontological Code and the guidelines issued by Fnomceo - whose non-compliance puts the single professionals at risk of disciplinary measures - can limit unjustifiably the use of advertisement on behalf of doctors. In fact, the Code provides for: a) total prohibition of promotional advertisement, used, according to several reports, so as to contest the use of specific means of diffusion or messages centred on a particular economic moderateness of the services; b) prohibition of comparative advertisement; c) limitations as regards advertisements containing tariffs; d) the Association’s preventive verification of conformity with the deontological rules as regards advertisements meant to be spread.

According to the Antitrust Authority the hindrances to the use of advertisement can have restrictive effects on competition since these likely limit the use of an important competition tool for professionals and associate surgeries.

The measure was carried out on the basis of a number of reports submitted by professionals and companies managing dentists’ surgeries, according to which the use of the advertisement tool results greatly hindered by relevant rules and regulations contained in art. 56 of the Deontological Code and by a strongly restrictive implementation, in said ambit, of the notion of ‘professional decor.’ Whereas, Groupon Spa’s report complains that different territorial bodies allegedly carried out pressure on doctors advertising their professional activity by using Groupon’s services, obtaining the termination of contracts.

Rome, 13^th September 2013