Quality indicators in the treatment of schizophrenic inpatients - Results of a pilot study on external quality assurance by means of tracer diagnosis

Purpose: In Germany, measures for assuring the quality of inpatient treatme nt are regulated by legislation. Treatment quality must be presented in com parison with other hospitals. Tracer diagnosis is an established method for external quality assurance in the sphere of somatic medicine. Method: To e valuate this method of external quality assurance in psychiatry, the German Society for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Nervous Diseases (DGPPN) defined and operationalised quality indicators for the treatment of schizophrenic inpatients. Results of a multicentre project supported by the German Federa l Ministry of Health (BMC) using this inventory in 96 schizophrenic inpatie nts (ICD-10) from 4 hospitals are presented. The qualification of these ind icators of structure, process and outcome while comparing the treatment qua lity of different hospitals as well as their applicability for internal qua lity management are discussed.