BMJ  2004;329:307 (7 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7461.307-a

News

Germany sets up quality control institute for health care

Heidelberg

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Germany's federal joint committee of doctors, health insurance companies, and patients (the Gemeinsame Bundesausschuss) has announced the foundation of a new, independent Institute for Quality and Economic Efficiency in Health Care—Germany's equivalent of England's National Institute for Clinical Excellence.

The main task of the new institute, which has a staff of about 30, is to research the latest medical knowledge on diagnostics and therapy of selected diseases and provide expertise on quality and economic efficiency.

The institute will also evaluate the evidence based guidelines of the most common diseases and prepare recommendations for setting up disease management programmes. In addition, the institute will evaluate the effectiveness of drug treatment and prepare information about the quality and efficiency of health care for the public.

Its first director is Professor Peter Sawicki, a physician and diabetes specialist who founded a private research institute, the Institute for Evidence-Based Medicine, in 2002 ( BMJ . . . [Full text of this article]

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Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Quality made in Germany - And who is supervising the supervisors?

Dr. Herbert H. Nehrlich
bmj.com, 5 Aug 2004 [Full text]

Quality, efficiency and patient care.

Dr.Naseem A. Qureshi MD, IMAPA, LMIPS
bmj.com, 10 Aug 2004 [Full text]

International Quality control in academic research and clinical trials- an issue of quality

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bmj.com, 6 Sep 2004 [Full text]