[Measuring quality in the German Guideline Programme in Oncology (GGPO)—methodology and implementation]

The German Guideline Programme in Oncology (GGPO) is a joint initiative between the German Cancer Society, the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany and German Cancer Aid. In accordance with the aims of the German National Cancer Plan, the GGPO supports the systematic development of high-quality guidelines. To enhance implementation and evaluation, the suggestion of performance measures (PMs) derived from guideline recommendations following a standardised methodology is obligatory within the GGPO. For this purpose, PM teams are convened representing the multidisciplinary guideline development groups including clinical experts, methodologists and patient representatives as well as those organisations that take an active part in and share responsibility for documentation and quality improvement, i.e., clinical cancer registries, certified cancer centres and, if appropriate, the institution responsible for external quality assurance according to the German Social Code (SGB). The primary selection criteria for PMs include strength of the underlying recommendation (strong, grade A), existing potential for improvement of care and measurability. The premises of data economy and standardised documentation are taken into account. Between May 2008 and July 2014, 12 guidelines with suggestions for 100 PMs have been published. The majority of the suggested performance measures is captured by the specific documentation requirements of the clinical cancer registries and certified cancer centres. This creates a solid basis for an active quality management and re-evaluation of the suggested PMs. In addition, the suspension of measures should be considered if improvement has been achieved on a broad scale and for a longer period in order to concentrate on a quality-oriented, economic documentation.