[External quality assurance of medical rehabilitation in statutory health insurance].

Medical rehabilitation and the statutory health insurance companies (SHI) are increasingly coming into conflict due, on the one hand, to the current shortage of resources in the health care system and, on the other hand, the increasing need for rehabilitation measures. This makes it necessary to base the planning and management of rehabilitation treatments on economic and qualitative considerations equally. Quality assurance procedures play an important role in guaranteeing that rehabilitation is effective and efficient. This article discusses the expectations of the SHI companies regarding quality assurance (QS), explains the demands made by the legislator and reports on the activities of the SHI companies aimed at implementing a common external QS-program. As rehabilitation units are treating patients for various health insurance companies it is imperative that these agencies--in spite of competing with each other--agree on a common QS-program in order to avoid a situation in which a rehabilitation unit would have to provide different (and perhaps conflicting) proofs of its quality.