Quality Management (DIN ISO 9001:2000) in a Department of Dental Surgery - a Field Report

In 2002 and 2003a quality management system was introduced in the Department of Dentomaxillofacial Surgery as a pilot project of the Clinic for Dentistry, Oral and Craniomandibular Sciences at the University Clinics Ulm. After establishment of the quality management manual the department was certified by SGS-ICS end of December 2003. The department of dento-maxillofacial surgery in Ulm is the third universitarian institution to be certified after departments in Erlangen and Freiburg. In the present publication the experience of the department of dentomaxillofacial surgery made with the introduction of a quality management system according to DIN ISO 9001:2000 and the first recertification in 2005 is summarised. Major emphasis is placed on documentation and information aspects, treatment and organisation of outpatient dental-surgical procedures. With the establishment of a quality manual the treatment procedures and the three-year training for oral surgeons were standardised, the treatment quality and the patient satisfaction were increased. Currently the implementation of an entirely software-based, process-oriented system is being worked on.