[Internet presence in surgical departments in Germany. II. Legal bases of medical Internet presence].

In recent years, the Internet has generally been growing throughout the world, and physicians have taken to the Web as well. Besides its use for medical data research, physicians and hospitals are increasingly discovering the Internet as a vehicle for the presentation of their scope of practice. In this regard, the legal frameworks in Germany are strictly regulated. This article presents current legal standards and consequences to be faced when the law on prohibited advertising is broken. Included are references to specific laws concerning Internet pages.