Quality of processes and structures

In line with our remit, our goal is to support and ensure good quality levels of integrated health care processes and treatment for citizens and patients. For this purpose, an interdisciplinary team is developing guidelines and standards for process and structural quality in health care and continuously advances evidence-based standards and quality criteria, whose subsequent implementation is obligatory at a nationwide level and in all areas, from treatment by established doctors to hospital care. Structural quality, process quality and outcome quality, the three dimensions of quality according to Avedis Donabedian, form the basis of a feedback loop that permits continuous improvements.

From our perspective, it is important that the relevant standards are focused on patient-oriented care processes and not only on aspects of equipment, staff, materials and devices. Standards that have been developed on the basis of a correct methodology should become part of everyday routines of all experts working in the health care sector. Therefore we seek to integrate health care professionals of all areas in our projects e.g., established doctors, nurses, representatives of hospitals and different professional groups. Our work is oriented towards patient satisfaction and patient safety; and it benefits from input by patients’ representatives as our partners.

Our work also includes the establishment of an accreditation procedure for quality activities and a measuring system for monitoring care quality. In addition, we are developing a promotion and incentives system in order to assist health care providers with regard to attaining uniform, comparable health care levels.

International experience, innovation and trends may be a helpful input: the BIQG team is establishing international cooperation structures, for instance with German quality institutes (IQWiG, ÄZQ, BQS), the Guidelines International Network (G-I-N) and the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua).

In order to ensure a high quality of care services, our insights that have been achieved in cooperation with experts are implemented, monitored and assessed regularly. This forms the basis for recommendations for measures of further quality improvement, control and planning of services.

Contact: Eva-Maria Kernstock

»The Guidelines International Network (G-I-N) is an international not-for-profit association of organisations and individuals involved in clinical practice guidelines. G-I-N seeks to improve the quality of health care by promoting systematic development of clinical practice guidelines and their application into practice, through supporting international collaboration. G-I-N’s Guideline Library contains regularly-updated information about guidelines of the G-I-N membership.«