The German Agency for Quality in Medicine (AEZQ) - in German "Ärztliches Zentrum für Qualität in der Medizin (ÄZQ)", established in 1995 and located in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
, co-ordinates
healthcare quality programmes with special focus on
evidence-based medicine,
medical guidelines,
patient empowerment,
patient safety
Patient safety is a discipline that emphasizes safety in health care through the prevention, reduction, reporting and analysis of error and other types of unnecessary harm that often lead to adverse patient events. The frequency and magnitude of ...
programs, and
quality management
Quality management ensures that an organization, product or service consistently functions well. It has four main components: quality planning, quality assurance, quality control and quality improvement. Quality management is focused not ...
.
AEZQ is a non-profit organization owned by the
German Medical Association The German Medical Association (GMA) (german: Bundesärztekammer, BÄK), founded in 1947 and based in Berlin, is the co-ordinating body of physicians’ self-regulation in Germany. It co-ordinates the activities of the 17 State Chambers of Physician ...
and the
National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians.
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Activities
AEZQ initiated several quality programs for the German healthcare system:
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
National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC) is a database of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and related documents. As of July 2, 2018, it will no longer be updated with new content, and it will no longer be available online as of July 18 ...
in the US, the agency founded a German Guideline
Clearinghouse aiming at best practice in guideline production.
In 1998 AEZQ 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
Shared decision-making in medicine (SDM) is a process in which both the patient and physician contribute to the medical decision-making process and agree on treatment decisions. Health care providers explain treatments and alternatives to pa ...
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.
AEZQ was co-founder of the
Guidelines International Network in 2002 - under the leadership of
Günter Ollenschläger, collaborating with other national healthcare quality agencies like the US
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ; pronounced "ark" by initiates and often "A-H-R-Q" by the public) is one of twelve agencies within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The agency is headquartered i ...
, the UK
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care in England that publishes guidelines in four areas:
* the use of health technologies withi ...
, the Australian
National Health and Medical Research Council
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is the main statutory authority of the Australian Government responsible for medical research. It was the eighth largest research funding body in the world in 2016, and NHMRC-funded rese ...
.
In the field of
patient safety
Patient safety is a discipline that emphasizes safety in health care through the prevention, reduction, reporting and analysis of error and other types of unnecessary harm that often lead to adverse patient events. The frequency and magnitude of ...
AEZQ 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. AEZQ established a national web of
Critical Incident Reporting Systems. The institution is partner of the international
High 5 Project.
In 2010 the agency set up a
Digital Library
A digital library, also called an online library, an internet library, a digital repository, or a digital collection is an online database of digital objects that can include text, still images, audio, video, digital documents, or other digital ...
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 (KM) is the collection of methods relating to creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information of an organization. It refers to a multidisciplinary approach to achieve organisational objectives by making ...
in healthcare.
AEZQ entertained the administrative offices of the
Guidelines International Network, and of the
German Network for Evidence Based Medicine until 2013. It hosts the editorial office of the
German Journal for Evidence and Quality in Healthcare ZEFQ.
References
External links
German Agency for Quality in Medicine Official WebsiteNational Program for Disease Management Guidelines WebsiteGerman Patient Information Clearinghouse WebsiteAQUMED Patient Safety Websitewww.arztbibliothek.de - The German Medical e-Library
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Medical and health organisations based in Berlin
Medical and health organisations based in Germany
Patient safety
Evidence-based practices
Evidence-based medicine