Heilmittelwerbegesetz

The Heilmittelwerbegesetz, almost always shortened to HWG, sets the boundaries for advertising medicines, medical devices and health services in Germany. Any pharmacy marketing a diagnostics offering is inside its scope.

What it permits is factual information. What a service is, which markers are measured, how the sample is taken, what it costs, how long the result takes, and who analyses it can all be described plainly.

What it prohibits is the language marketing reaches for first. A Heilversprechen, meaning a promise that something will cure or prevent an illness. Guarantees of success or of a particular result. Statements that mislead, including implying that a measured value amounts to a diagnosis. Endorsements and testimonials are tightly restricted, so a customer story is not a safe substitute for a factual claim.

Diagnostics copy is unusually exposed here, because a number looks like proof. A phrase such as recognising illnesses early crosses further than it appears to, since a venöse Blutentnahme or a Point-of-Care-Test produces values, and interpreting those values against a Referenzbereich is a medical judgement the pharmacy is not making.

A safe formulation describes the measurement and leaves the conclusion open. Saying which values are measured, that they are placed in the analysing laboratory's reference range, and that anything unclear belongs with a physician stays factual and still communicates the value of the service.

Price transparency runs alongside this. An offering sold as an apothekenübliche Dienstleistung should state the total price in writing before the service, which is good practice under the HWG and under general price law alike.