Report on the Drug Situation 2010 - Bundesministerium für ...

national quality standards for medical treatment has started later than in other
countries. The Federal Act on the Quality of Health-care Services (GQG; BGBl I
2004/179) effective as of 1 January 2005 provides the legal framework for the
advancement of systematic quality research. The Act provides that quality standards
for the delivery of health-care services be developed, in cooperation with the relevant
stakeholders, in particular the health-care professionals involved as well as patients.
Then the Federal Minister for Health may either issue Federal Quality Guidelines (BQLL)
which recommend the use of the resulting quality standards or adopt a binding Decree
stipulating their use as Federal Quality Directives (BQRL). The standards must permit
nationwide implementation across sectors and professions, and must be in line with
the general principles of health promotion and transparency as well as the state of the
art of medicine and experience with regard to effectiveness and efficiency. In order to
perform this task, in 2007 BIQG was established, an institute specialising in healthcare
quality, as a business unit of GÖG, a national research and planning institute for
health care in Austria.
Since September 2007, BIQG has focused on providing a basis for producing quality
standards. International experience and recommendations were used as input for
preparing a metaguideline (GÖG under preparation), which defines the process of
drawing up guidelines. According to the Metaguideline for Methods of Developing and
Implementing Quality Guidelines, organisations may propose themes for Federal
Quality Guidelines or Directives. These themes are weighted and ranked in a defined
prioritisation process and eventually guidelines are drawn up on behalf of the Federal
Ministry of Health or the Federal Health Agency (BGA). In addition, it is possible to file
applications for recognition of papers as Federal Quality Directives (e.g., if a medical
society or association has already produced a quality standard): in this case, it is
verified in an accreditation procedure whether the formal criteria for Federal Quality
Directives are met. At present, six themes are being reviewed. In order to draw up a
Federal Quality Guideline or Directive on addiction treatment, it would be necessary to
propose this theme for further examination.
Both BQLL and BQRL quality standards specify a certain path of action and decisionmaking
with regard to treatment and care services and recommend proven, effective
instruments and procedures, departure from which is admissible or may even be
required in well-founded cases. Any deviations should adequately be documented,
however. Either type of standard (BQLL and BQRL) is produced by multidisciplinary
teams in a systematic procedure, with decisions based on consensus. Different to other
member states of the EU, in Austria the focus is not solely placed on medical
treatment, but other services are also included. Any existing medical, care or treatment
standards are taken into consideration as source standards if their quality meets the
defined criteria.
100 © GÖG/ÖBIG, <strong>Report</strong> on the Drug Situation 2010