Quality Standards for Allergen Immunotherapy Clinics in Spain: Consensus Document.

Area of Science:

• Allergy and Immunology
• Clinical Practice Guidelines
• Healthcare Quality Improvement

Background:

• Allergen immunotherapy clinics (AITCs) in Spain exhibit significant variability in structure, resources, and services.
• A need exists to unify treatment criteria and establish quality standards, particularly for complex AITCs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop recommendations for ensuring quality and safety in immunotherapy administration.
• To define quality standards for accrediting highly complex AITCs.

Main Methods:

• An initial online survey of 65 Spanish allergy departments/units was conducted in 2013.
• A two-phase consensus process involved 10 experts using the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness method, followed by validation with 84 experts via a two-round Delphi consultation.

Main Results:

• Consensus was achieved on minimum safety and quality criteria for allergen immunotherapy administration.
• Two tiers of highly complex AITCs were defined: accredited AITCs and accredited AITCs with excellence.
• Quality standards and accreditation criteria for both tiers were established.

Conclusions:

• This pioneering project defined quality standards for AITCs using a combination of RAND/UCLA and Delphi methods.
• Minimum standards for quality and safety in AIT administration were designed.
• Quality criteria for AITC accreditation were developed with input from a broad expert panel from the Spanish Society of Allergology and Clinical Immunology.