Quality assurance in psychiatry: Concept and methods

Quality assurance is the corrective action applied to any observed discrepancy between optimal and actual level of medical care requiring continuous quality control. Obviously, quality assurance is of utmost importance also in psychiatric practice. Quality care as defined by the degree of adherence to standards and guidelines can be measured in terms of structural, process and outcome indicators applied to inpatient, outpatient and complementary services. To promote the implementation of practice guidelines into psychiatric care conceptual, methodological, and organisational requirements must be taken into account.