Belgium asked to liberalise lab laws

Published: 22-Aug-2002


The European Commission has formally asked Belgium to liberalise laws impeding laboratories from carrying out clinical analyses for patients. The Commission wants Belgium to scrap rules insisting that for such laboratories to receive money via the country's social insurance scheme, they have to be headed up administratively by doctors, pharmacists or chemical science graduates.

Said the Commission: 'This discourages people covered by social insurance from using laboratories run by other economic operators and especially by professionals from other member states not belonging to one of these three categories.'

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