Quality management

Quality Management (QM) is gaining in importance and acceptance in medicine. Since the amendment of the German Social Code V, QM has been enforced by law QM must prove health benefits, protect patients from avoidable treatment-related harm and make economical sense. Donabedian subdivides total "quality" into structure, process and outcome quality. To describe inter-sector quality of care, a fourth dimension of quality has been defined as "transfer quality" Quality management makes transparency of own performance obligatory by means of structured documentation and evaluation. The established QM and certification systems concentrate on the analysis and evaluation of the general processes of the facility, while specialized QM focuses on the diabetologic qualification of the facility. The quality of own performance is continuously monitored, analyzed and developed (continuous quality development). The implementation of a general and diabetes-specific QM system is rated by inspection and analysis of the facility (audit) by objective experts (auditors) in order to receive certification. Directives, guidelines, recommendations and standards are decision-making aides for diagnosis and therapy and are important parts of QM.