[Quality assurance in sociomedical evaluation].

Presented is the work of the Quality Assurance in Sociomedical Evaluation Project Group and its findings so far. The Project Group has developed a quality assurance concept for the outcome quality of sociomedical evaluations with personal examination and for evaluations on the basis of medical records. The quality criteria proposed by the Project Group are divided into primary as well as particular criteria. The primary criteria are: plausibility and conclusiveness, reproducibility, neutrality; the particular criteria are: formal and content programming, medical-scientific foundations, understandability, completeness, transparency, and efficiency. Both, the primary and the particular criteria are operationalized through examination questions. To fulfill a primary quality criterion, all related examination questions have to be answered in the affirmative. The particular criteria are related using a scoring system. The quality assurance programme also provides for a peer-review procedure; however, the manual for this procedure has yet to be developed. Research projects will be needed to determine the methodological requirements that have to be fulfilled for the proposed peer review procedure. Prior to implementation of the programme with the financially responsible pension insurance agencies it will be necessary to estimate the amount of time and manpower involved.