The activities in this department complement those of process and structural quality by introducing uniform structures for measuring outcome quality that permit comparisons at national and international levels, thus including the third dimension of quality according to Avedis Donabedian. This continuously contributes to maintaining and ensuring high quality levels of medical care in Austria’s health care system, and eventually  will also enhance patient satisfaction.

We maintain quality registries in selected medical disciplines. All relevant data, e.g., on care processes, transport service management, waiting times or complications, are collected and analysed centrally. We cooperate with medical societies when interpreting these outcomes, which are then communicated to the service providers (e.g., hospitals) as benchmarks.

The resulting indicators (complication rates and infection rates, reintervention rates etc.) make available to hospitals anonymous comparisons to other services providers in the registry. Based on this feedback process the hospitals themselves, if necessary, may define, initiate and implement quality improvements. The outcome of these measures is again evaluated in the context of the ensuing analyses.

As another contribution to improving the quality of Austria’s health care system, a nation-wide, standardised, cross-sector survey on patient satisfaction will be prepared.

Contact: Reinhard Kern