Advertising for physiotherapists in Austria: what is allowed and what is not

The basis: § 39 MTD Act 2024

The MTD-Gesetz 2024 (Austria’s act for the medical-technical, therapeutic and diagnostic health professions) has applied since 1 September 2024 to all these professions, including physiotherapy. Unlike doctors, physiotherapists have no chamber and no professional code of their own. The advertising rules are therefore written directly into the act, in § 39 “advertising restrictions, commission ban, duty to inform and invoicing”:

Under § 57 MTD Act, breaches of § 39 are administrative offences with fines of up to €5,000. In addition, the Federal Act against Unfair Competition (UWG) applies: competitors and associations can send cease-and-desist letters and sue over misleading advertising. And because you process health data, the GDPR and your duty of confidentiality (§ 36 MTD Act) come on top.

Professional title: who may call themselves a physiotherapist

“Physiotherapeutin” and “Physiotherapeut” are protected. Only people registered in the Gesundheitsberuferegister (Austria’s health professions register) may use them – and must use them when practising (§ 3 MTD Act). Confusingly similar titles and any titles the law does not provide for are prohibited (§ 3 para. 5). Additional designations are only foreseen for legally regulated specialisations. For your advertising this means: the professional title comes first, further training is described as methods.

Methods, effectiveness and prices: what you may say

“Factual” means true, verifiable and without pressure. You may describe what you do, who it is for and how a treatment works. It gets tricky with promises of success, superlatives and comparisons. The UWG prohibits misleading statements for all businesses anyway (§ 2 UWG). The UWG allows comparative advertising under certain conditions (§ 2a UWG), but for physiotherapists § 39 MTD Act rules it out explicitly.

• Methods: “manual therapy, exercise therapy, lymphatic drainage, vestibular rehabilitation” – with one sentence on what happens.
• Effectiveness: “can help”, “the aim is …”, “together we develop an exercise programme”. Not: “pain-free in five sessions” or “cures slipped discs”.
• Target groups: “after ACL surgery”, “for runners”, “for dizziness” – this is information and helps on Google.
• Equipment and setting: rooms, equipment, barrier-free access, languages, home visits, online booking.
• No comparisons: “unlike other practices, we take our time” is comparative; “each session lasts 60 minutes” is information.

Fees and insurance reimbursement as a Wahlphysio

Stating prices is not just allowed, it helps you meet the duty to inform under § 39 para. 3. Most freelance physiotherapists work as a Wahlphysiotherapeut:in (out-of-network physiotherapist without a contract with the public health insurers): patients pay your fee and submit the invoice and the medical referral to their insurer (ÖGK, BVAEB or SVS). As a rule they get back 80% of what the insurer would pay a contracted provider (§ 131 ASVG) – often much less than your fee. That is exactly what patients should know beforehand.

Vouchers, discounts and free offers

Austria no longer has a general ban on free add-ons. Gift vouchers for treatments or courses are therefore unproblematic. For discounts, § 39 applies: costs must be calculated by objective, non-discriminatory criteria. A published price for a block of ten sessions or a student rate is a pricing rule for everyone; “This week only: 30% off everything!” is unobjective promotion. If you write “free”, you must mean it: under the UWG it is unfair to advertise something as free of charge when costs do arise. The invoice always shows the amount actually paid – only that amount counts for reimbursement.

Referrals and the commission ban

Many patients come via doctors. You may cultivate this cooperation, but not pay for it: § 39 para. 2 prohibits payments for referring patients – in both directions. So per-patient bonuses for orthopaedists, “marketing contributions” to a gym for each person referred or a bonus for patients who recruit friends are not allowed. Factual cooperation is fine: a set time for questions, an information pack for referring doctors, renting rooms at market rates. The rules on the doctors’ side are covered in the article on advertising for doctors in Austria.

Reviews, Google profile and recommendations

Genuine reviews on Google or in directories are valuable for a physiotherapy practice – and allowed. The UWG draws clear lines, though: posting fake reviews or commissioning them is always unfair (Annex no. 23c UWG). If you show reviews on your own website, you may not claim they come from patients without reasonable checks (no. 23b), and you must say whether and how you ensure they are genuine (§ 2 para. 6b UWG).

• Ask, don’t reward: a note after the last session or a review QR code at reception is fine. Discounts or vouchers in exchange for reviews are not.
• Embed unchanged: quote reviews in full or link to your profile – no shortened quotes that promise a cure.
• Reply without patient data: your duty of confidentiality applies to criticism too. Do not confirm that someone was your patient and do not mention details.

How to set up your profile completely is explained in the article on the Google Business Profile.

Social media, photos and videos with patients

Exercise videos, a look inside the practice and short explanations work well on Instagram or YouTube. The same rules apply as on your website. As soon as patients can be recognised, three layers of protection are added: your duty of confidentiality (§ 36 MTD Act), the GDPR – photos from treatment are health data, so you need explicit consent (Art. 9 GDPR) – and the right to one’s own image.

Competitions with a free treatment as the prize, challenges with promises of healing or “before and after” videos without context quickly look unobjective. Content that shows how you work performs better: an exercise of the month, the answer to a common question, a look at the training room.

Quick check: do’s and don’ts

Mandatory information such as the legal notice and professional title is a separate topic – see mandatory information for physiotherapy websites in Austria. If you are just starting out, the guide to opening a physiotherapy practice will help.