PURPOSE: In Germany, measures for assuring the quality of inpatient treatment are regulated by legislation. Treatment quality must be presented in comparison with other hospitals. Tracer diagnosis is an established method for external quality assurance in the sphere of somatic medicine. METHOD: To evaluate this method of external quality assurance in psychiatry, the German Society for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Nervous Diseases (DGPPN) defined and operationalised quality indicators for the treatment of schizophrenic inpatients. RESULTS: of a multicentre project supported by the German Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) using this inventory in 96 schizophrenic inpatients (ICD-10) from 4 hospitals are presented. The qualification of these indicators of structure, process and outcome while comparing the treatment quality of different hospitals as well as their applicability for internal quality management are discussed.
PURPOSE: In Germany, measures for assuring the quality of inpatient treatment are regulated by legislation. Treatment quality must be presented in comparison with other hospitals. Tracer diagnosis is an established method for external quality assurance in the sphere of somatic medicine. METHOD: To evaluate this method of external quality assurance in psychiatry, the German Society for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Nervous Diseases (DGPPN) defined and operationalised quality indicators for the treatment of schizophrenic inpatients. RESULTS: of a multicentre project supported by the German Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) using this inventory in 96 schizophrenic inpatients (ICD-10) from 4 hospitals are presented. The qualification of these indicators of structure, process and outcome while comparing the treatment quality of different hospitals as well as their applicability for internal quality management are discussed.