Clinical quality measurement in anaesthesia from routine data. Examples of appendectomy and resection of the colon

There is no nationwide evaluation of the quality of anaesthesia in Germany. Thus, the aim of this study was to perform analyses using administrative routine data relating to this topic. Nationwide hospital claims data of patients insured with the local healthcare insurance fund (AOK) in the year 2007 were analyzed. Indicators from International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems-10, German modification (ICD-10-GM) diagnosis codes for possible anaesthesia complications were selected. Based on the present data, it was not possible to validate indicators which can be applied to detect the quality of anaesthesia. Administrative data seem to be an appropriated basis for measurement of quality of outcome in anaesthesiology. Further investigations should be performed to include the diagnosis present on admission. Moreover, there is a need for comparing routine data to the standardized data set, known as the "core data set anaesthesia".