German Agency for Quality in Medicine
Encyclopedia
The German Agency for Quality in Medicine (AQUMED) - in German "Ärztliches Zentrum für Qualität in der Medizin (ÄZQ)", established in 1995 and located in Berlin
co-ordinates healthcare quality programmes with special focus on evidence-based medicine
, medical guidelines, patient empowerment
, patient safety
programs, and quality management
.
AQUMED is a non-profit organization owned by the German Medical Association and the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians
.
It established the German Program for evidence based
medical guidelines in the late 90s. Based upon guideline standards from the Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network
and referring to experiences from the National Guideline Clearinghouse
in the US, the agency founded a German Guideline Clearinghouse aiming at best practice in guideline production.
In 1998 AQUMED was co-founder of the German Network for Evidence Based Medicine
.
The organization established the German Clearinghouse for Patient Information in order to promote scientifically based shared decision making
in 1999.
In 2002, the agency set up the National Program for Disease Management Guidelines.
The development of reliable and consumer information is integral part of this guideline program.
AQUMED was co-founder of the Guidelines International Network
in 2002, collaborating with other national healthcare quality agencies like the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
, the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council
.
In the field of patient safety
AQUMED was one of the first German organisations calling for effective patient safety programs. The agency was co-founder of the German Coalition for Patient Safety
. AQUMED established a national network of Critical Incident Reporting Systems
. The institution is partner of the international High 5 Project.
In 2010 the agency set up a Digital Library
for physicians and other interested health professionals and lays - the German Medical eLibrary (www.arztbibliothek.de) - for reinforcement of reliable and unbiased knowledge management
in healthcare.
AQUMED entertains the administrative offices of the Guidelines International Network
, and of the German Network for Evidence Based Medicine
. It hosts the editorial office of the German Journal for Evidence and Quality in Healthcare ZEFQ
with AQUMED's head Günter Ollenschläger
serving as editor-in-chief.
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
co-ordinates healthcare quality programmes with special focus on evidence-based medicine
Evidence-based medicine
Evidence-based medicine or evidence-based practice aims to apply the best available evidence gained from the scientific method to clinical decision making. It seeks to assess the strength of evidence of the risks and benefits of treatments and diagnostic tests...
, medical guidelines, patient empowerment
Patient empowerment
The patient empowerment concept, a recent outgrowth of the natural health movement, asserts that to be truly healthy, people must bring about changes in their social situations and in the environment that influences their lives, not only in their personal behavior.According to advocates of the...
, patient safety
Patient safety
Patient safety is a new healthcare discipline that emphasizes the reporting, analysis, and prevention of medical error that often leads to adverse healthcare events. The frequency and magnitude of avoidable adverse patient events was not well known until the 1990s, when multiple countries reported...
programs, and quality management
Quality management
The term Quality management has a specific meaning within many business sectors. This specific definition, which does not aim to assure 'good quality' by the more general definition , can be considered to have four main components: quality planning, quality control, quality assurance and quality...
.
AQUMED is a non-profit organization owned by the German Medical Association and the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians
National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians
The National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians - in German "Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung ", based in Berlin, is the co-ordinating body of the about 150,000 office-based physicians' and psychotherapists' self-administration in Germany. It co-ordinates the activities of the...
.
Activities
AQUMED initiated several quality programs for the German healthcare system:It established the German Program for evidence based
Evidence-based medicine
Evidence-based medicine or evidence-based practice aims to apply the best available evidence gained from the scientific method to clinical decision making. It seeks to assess the strength of evidence of the risks and benefits of treatments and diagnostic tests...
medical guidelines in the late 90s. Based upon guideline standards from the Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network
Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network
Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network was formed in 1993 and develops evidence based clinical practice guidelines for the National Health Service in Scotland. Membership includes medical specialists, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, professions allied to medicine, patients, managers, social...
and referring to experiences from the National Guideline Clearinghouse
National Guideline Clearinghouse
National Guideline Clearinghouse is a database of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and related documents. It is maintained as a public resource by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services...
in the US, the agency founded a German Guideline Clearinghouse aiming at best practice in guideline production.
In 1998 AQUMED was co-founder of the German Network for Evidence Based Medicine
German Network for Evidence Based Medicine
The German Network for Evidence based Medicine is a scientific not-profit association of individuals and institutions promoting the quality of patient care and disease prevention by applying the principles of evidence based healthcare - in special dentistry , medicine , nursing , pharmacy,...
.
The organization established the German Clearinghouse for Patient Information in order to promote scientifically based shared decision making
Shared decision making
Shared decision-making is an approach where clinicians and patients communicate together using the best available evidence when faced with the task of making decisions, where patients are supported to deliberate about the possible attributes and consequences of options, to arrive at informed...
in 1999.
In 2002, the agency set up the National Program for Disease Management Guidelines.
The development of reliable and consumer information is integral part of this guideline program.
AQUMED was co-founder of the Guidelines International Network
Guidelines International Network
The Guidelines International Network is an international scientific asssociation of organisations and individuals interested and involved in development and application of evidence based guidelines and health care information...
in 2002, collaborating with other national healthcare quality agencies like the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is a part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, which supports research designed to improve the outcomes and quality of health care, reduce its costs, address patient safety and medical errors, and broaden access to effective...
, the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is a special health authority of the English National Health Service , serving both English NHS and the Welsh NHS...
, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council
National Health and Medical Research Council
The National Health and Medical Research Council is Australia's peak funding body for medical research, with a budget of roughly 700 million dollars a year...
.
In the field of patient safety
Patient safety
Patient safety is a new healthcare discipline that emphasizes the reporting, analysis, and prevention of medical error that often leads to adverse healthcare events. The frequency and magnitude of avoidable adverse patient events was not well known until the 1990s, when multiple countries reported...
AQUMED was one of the first German organisations calling for effective patient safety programs. The agency was co-founder of the German Coalition for Patient Safety
German Coalition for Patient Safety
The German Coalition for Patient Safety - in German "Aktionsbündnis Patientensicherheit ", established in 2005 and located in Bonn is a German non-profit asssociation of organisations and individuals interested and involved in promotion of patient safety.-Activities:APS' multidisciplinary working...
. AQUMED established a national network of Critical Incident Reporting Systems
Patient safety
Patient safety is a new healthcare discipline that emphasizes the reporting, analysis, and prevention of medical error that often leads to adverse healthcare events. The frequency and magnitude of avoidable adverse patient events was not well known until the 1990s, when multiple countries reported...
. The institution is partner of the international High 5 Project.
In 2010 the agency set up a Digital Library
Digital library
A digital library is a library in which collections are stored in digital formats and accessible by computers. The digital content may be stored locally, or accessed remotely via computer networks...
for physicians and other interested health professionals and lays - the German Medical eLibrary (www.arztbibliothek.de) - for reinforcement of reliable and unbiased knowledge management
Knowledge management
Knowledge management comprises a range of strategies and practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption of insights and experiences...
in healthcare.
AQUMED entertains the administrative offices of the Guidelines International Network
Guidelines International Network
The Guidelines International Network is an international scientific asssociation of organisations and individuals interested and involved in development and application of evidence based guidelines and health care information...
, and of the German Network for Evidence Based Medicine
German Network for Evidence Based Medicine
The German Network for Evidence based Medicine is a scientific not-profit association of individuals and institutions promoting the quality of patient care and disease prevention by applying the principles of evidence based healthcare - in special dentistry , medicine , nursing , pharmacy,...
. It hosts the editorial office of the German Journal for Evidence and Quality in Healthcare ZEFQ
German Journal for Evidence and Quality in Healthcare ZEFQ
The Zeitschrift für Evidenz, Fortbildung und Qualität im Gesundheitswesen is a German language medical journal focussing on evidence-based medicine published by Elsevier Germany...
with AQUMED's head Günter Ollenschläger
Günter Ollenschläger
Günter Ollenschläger is a German physician and medical editor. He has been chief editor of the German Journal for Evidence and Quality in Healthcare ZEFQ and head of the German Agency for Quality in Medicine since 1995....
serving as editor-in-chief.