AQUMED - Agency for Quality in Medicine (ƒZQ), Cologne, Germany

The Agency for Quality in Medicine (AQUMED) was founded in March 1995 as a joint institution of the German Medical Association (GMA = Bundes‰rztekammer) and the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (NASHIP = Kassen‰rztliche Bundesvereinigung).
Following aims were intended with the establishment of the AQUMED:

• Concentration and co-ordination of the nation-wide statutory function of the State Medical Associations in the field of quality-assurance


• Effective and coordinated development and execution of quality-assurance within the medical profession


• Effective and co-operative arrangement of the co-operation between sick funds and hospital associations to fulfil the legal tasks.

• the preparation for recommendations of GMA and NASHIP concerning the assurance of structural-, procedure- and result-quality in the medical profession


• the support of the State Medical Associations and the State Associations of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians concerning the execution of quality-assurance-progress


• the organisation of common advisory committees


• the assessment and preparation of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for the medical profession in ambulatory and hospital care


• the support and preparation of standardization within National or European Institutions
.
In 1999 AQUMED in co-operation with the Department of Epidemiology, Social Medicine and Public Health Research of the Medical Academy Hannover, the German Cochrane Centre and the Centre of Quality Management in Health Service of the Medical Association of Niedersachsen established an internet based patient information system. Under the web address www.patienten-information.de lay persons have access to a gateway to reliable consumer health and human services information. www.patienten-information.de leads to selected online publications, clearinghouses, databases, web sites, support and self-help groups, as well as not-for-profit organizations that produce reliable information for the public. These websites are currently rated according to the HON and DISCERN criteria, and adoption of MedCERTAIN elements and procedures within MedCIRCLE is envisaged. Since 2001 AQUMED is acknowledged by the German Health Insurances as a official advisory board for consumers and patients.



Contact Information:

Michael Fiene, Dr. med. Christian Thomeczek
ƒrztliche Zentralstelle Qualit‰tssicherung

Aachener Strasse 233 ñ 237
D-50931 Cologne
Tel. +49-(0)221-4004 500
Fax. +49-(0)221-4004-590
Email: MedCIRCLE@azq.de


(german version)


 

(Last update: 2002-07-03)