[Regional and national stroke units in Germany: amended certification criteria]

Stroke units (SU) have been certified for many years by the German Stroke Society (DSG) and the German Stroke Aid Foundation (SDSH). Since 2009 this is now undertaken in the third generation by the LGA InterCert of the Technical Surveillance Society of Rhineland (TÜV Rheinland). This article presents the amended certification criteria which came into effect in 2012. Many criteria and definitions could be further defined and specified and residual grey areas and fields of conflict could be reduced. For the first time a distinction has been made between the minimum requirements relevant for certification and additional recommendations by the SU Commission of the DSG. In this manner the authors are aiming to motivate SU operators not just to align quality assurance measures to the minimum requirements but to deliberately go beyond them. There is a great deal of evidence to indicate that this will not only serve to increase the motivation of personnel and the quality of treatment but simultaneously the economic situation can also be improved.