BACKGROUND: According to German legislature, hospitals have to implement quality assurance (QA) programs, which are of particular importance in times of ongoing structural changes in healthcare. Amongst other internal methods of QA, indicators measuring the quality of total hospital performance can reflect medical outcome and the activities of physicians, nurses, and administrators. METHODS: Five indicators for measuring total hospital performance and for controlling total medical outcome were used in this study. RESULTS: Evaluation was time consuming, and some indicators showed a wide range, which could be explained by external reasons independent from internal quality. Valid values could be ascertained in the field of administrative quality, whereas in contrast the assessment of medical quality seemed to be more difficult. CONCLUSION: Due to current developments in German healthcare, the application of quality assurance methods such as the presented system of indicators is recommended.
BACKGROUND: According to German legislature, hospitals have to implement quality assurance (QA) programs, which are of particular importance in times of ongoing structural changes in healthcare. Amongst other internal methods of QA, indicators measuring the quality of total hospital performance can reflect medical outcome and the activities of physicians, nurses, and administrators. METHODS: Five indicators for measuring total hospital performance and for controlling total medical outcome were used in this study. RESULTS: Evaluation was time consuming, and some indicators showed a wide range, which could be explained by external reasons independent from internal quality. Valid values could be ascertained in the field of administrative quality, whereas in contrast the assessment of medical quality seemed to be more difficult. CONCLUSION: Due to current developments in German healthcare, the application of quality assurance methods such as the presented system of indicators is recommended.