[Quality assurance in ultrasound diagnostic equipment in West Germany. Experiences with current regulations]

Since 1980, the Health Service (KBV) of the FRG has introduced regulations for quality assurance of diagnostic ultrasound equipment. This step was taken to limit overshooting expansion of echography and Health Service costs. The author describes experiences and problems arising from application of the KBV regulations. Preventing diagnostic ultrasound from developing institutional structures and being included in existing health and safety acts, resulted in a lack of legitimate and qualified structures for quality assurance of the methods. This deficiency of structures also compromises the quality assurance by KV regulations and thus produces an administrative torso. Therefore, in West Germany, the first step to improve quality assurance ought to be to look for appropriate institutions for qualified equipment testing.