Extraction of management information from the national quality assurance program

BACKGROUND: Starting with clinically motivated projects, the national quality assurance program has established a legislative obligatory framework. Annual feedback of results is an important means of quality control. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The annual reports cover quality-related information with high granularity. A synopsis for corporate management is missing, however. Therefore, the results of the University Clinics in Greifswald, Germany, have been analyzed and aggregated to support hospital management. RESULTS: Strengths were identified by the ranking of results within the state for each quality indicator, weaknesses by the comparison with national reference values. The assessment was aggregated per clinical discipline and per category (indication, process, and outcome). CONCLUSION: A composition of quality indicators was claimed multiple times. A coherent concept is still missing. The method presented establishes a plausible summary of strengths and weaknesses of a hospital from the point of view of the national quality assurance program. Nevertheless, further adaptation of the program is needed to better assist corporate management.