[External quality assurance in Germany. The current status].

Area of Science:

• Healthcare quality assessment
• Hospital performance benchmarking
• Comparative healthcare analytics

Background:

• External quality assurance (EQA) facilitates hospital comparison via process and outcome indicators.
• EQA methods originated in surgical and perinatal projects during the 1970s.
• Comparative statistics highlight hospital strengths and weaknesses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the current state and potential improvements of external quality assurance methods in German hospitals.
• To assess the utility of comparative statistics for demonstrating hospital quality to external stakeholders.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of established external quality assurance frameworks in German hospitals.
• Review of comparative statistics derived from quality indicators for 27 diseases and procedures.
• Examination of regulatory requirements and financial sanctions for non-participation.

Main Results:

• EQA is mandated for 27 diseases/procedures in all German hospitals since 2001.
• Non-participation incurs financial penalties.
• Current methods provide initial quality assessments but require enhancement for public transparency.

Conclusions:

• External quality assurance is a key tool for internal hospital assessment and regulatory compliance.
• Further methodological development is necessary to effectively communicate hospital quality to the public.
• The current system primarily serves internal benchmarking and regulatory oversight rather than public information.