[Responsibilities and problems in quality assurance in psychiatry and psychotherapy in childhood and adolescence].

The goals of quality assurance in child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy and related problems are reviewed. Three dimensions of quality assurance are differentiated: the substantive aspect (quality of the treatment process and results, quality of structural aspects of treatment facility) the area (diagnosis, therapy, staff training) and the tasks to be accomplished in the process of quality assurance (development of standards, assessment of the current situation, comparison of current situation with standards, planning and implementation of changes). Several important problems related to quality assurance are outlined and the most urgent tasks discussed in detail (development of quality standards and assessment of the current situation). It is proposed that quality assurance documentation is divided into four parts: documentation of structural characteristics of facility, basic documentation about patient, documentation of diagnostic and treatment services provided, and documentation of evaluation of services provided. An example of a therapy evaluation method (Questionnaire for Therapy Evaluation, QTE) is described.