Abstracts by key term: Evidence-Based Medicine
The quality assessment of medical care based on quality indicators plays an important role in the German health care system. The quality dimensions "Structure, process and result quality" developed by Donabedian in 1966 represent an established classification for quality indicators (1). Another way of classifying quality indicators is, for example, the throughput model according to Pfaff (2), which differentiates between input, throughput, output and outcome of the respective measurement objectives. In this context, measurement targets represent the event of the quality indicator to be measured. “Quality indicator” is not a protected term and is used by different actors in the healthcare system for a variety of issues. In inpatient care in particular, quality indicators are used to measure and depict the quality of care (3,4). Quality indicators are also increasingly used in the outpatient area (5-7) and across sector boundaries (8) to measure the effect of healthcare.
31.03.2015
With the founding of the IQWiG 5 years ago, the legislator pursued the purpose of being able to further postpone rationing in the health care system by using funds more rationally. In order to have a decision-making basis that is independent of industry in particular, IQWiG should evaluate therapies independently from a specialist perspective. Meanwhile, the drug assessment of the Institute itself is in the public criticism, it tendentious. A not medical, but legal assessment of IQWiG's drug assessment practice actually shows discrepancies between the legal requirements and assessment practice, particularly with regard to the definition of the order and the choice of method.
01.08.2009
With the most recent health care reform (GKV-WSG), the tasks of the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) were expanded: Previously, it could only evaluate drugs with regard to their medical benefits. In the future, the institute should also put the costs of the medication in relation to the previously determined benefits. According to the law, these cost-benefit assessments are intended, on the one hand, to set maximum amounts for certain medications. On the other hand, they can support the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) in assessing the cost-effectiveness of medical procedures. The proposed concept favors “efficient frontier analysis” as a method. The second element is a “budget impact analysis” to estimate how decisions affect healthcare spending.