Quality management in ophthalmology.: Putting it into practice in the clinical routine

Though quality assurance has been an integral part of modern patient care for many years, this topic has gained in importance in German health policy. The introduction of a new reimbursement system for inpatients according to diagnosis-related groups (DRG) as well as the continuous cutbacks in public financial resources in the German health system raise concern that the quality of patient care will decline. To prevent this, comprehensive quality assurance measures as well as the implementation of professional quality management systems in German healthcare organizations are required by law ( 135-137 SGB V). In the following, generally accepted concepts and methods of quality management are described.