[Legal implications of overtreatment].

Treatment measures beyond a justifiable indication are not only dubious from a medical point of view but also risky with respect to liability law and criminal law, even if the patient wishes to do so. Thoughtless automatisms in the daily routine of health care, economic pressures and legal "sciolism" endanger the the making of appropriate decisions regarding treatment and the society's claim to an economical and equitable use of resources. It is expected that the judicial system will not only take the violation of the patient's right to self-determination into account, but in the future-more than it used to-the defiance of boundaries of the medical profession.