AQUIK (R) : Starter set of ambulatory quality indicators developed by the German National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians

Aim: Development of a starter set of quality indicators for application by general practitioners and specialists in the outpatient care sector. Methodology: The results of a systematic search for national and international quality indicators relevant to the outpatient care sector in Germany provided the basis for the indicator selection process. Outpatient care doctors rated the relevance and feasibility of the indicators according to the RAND/UCLA method. In a further step the indicators were tested in medical practices, focussing on data availability and accessibility. Results: As a result, we established a set of 48 reliable, structurally developed and patient-oriented quality indicators which can be used for quality improvement in the outpatient care setting, both by specialists and general practitioners. Discussion: The project provides important information with regard to the future development and use of quality indicators. Depending on the potential fields of application, the development of new indicators as well as a corresponding IT infrastructure is of high priority. Possible unintended effects of indicators will have to be considered.