Self-help friendliness in ambulatory care, hospital care and rehabilitation services. Is collaboration with self-help structures being recognised in quality management systems?

摘要

BackgroundThe self-help friendliness concept means the sustainably institutionalised collaboration of health services with self-help groups, led by criteria defining good collaboration. It aims to improve patient-centeredness. Therefore self-help friendliness should be taken into account in quality management systems (QMSs).ObjectiveThe objective is an analysis of whether and to what degree criteria of good collaboration have been introduced into the most widespread quality management systems in Germany.Material and methodsOverall, 17QMSs were analysed: hospital care (3), outpatient care (8), rehabilitation (6, the quantitatively most important ones). Methods: analysis of websites, supplemented by aqualitative email survey with five to seven short questions building on our knowledge from websites and aprevious survey.ResultsCriteria for good collaboration are well represented within QMSs for inpatient care and within the most widespread ones for doctors in ambulatory care (seven of seven relevant sector-specific QMSs). This is not the case in the quality management system based on DIN EN ISO 9001-2000 and three lesser used ones in ambulatory care. All six researched QMSs for rehabilitation services contain some (between one and four) tips for collaboration with self-help groups, however they are not very visible.DiscussionThe German network Self-help friendliness and patient-centeredness in health services tries to improve the overall unsatisfactory situation through closer collaboration with QMSs. The recently started discussion on quality premiums for good healthcare services may be favourable for future development, if patient-centeredness is recognised as acrucial quality goal.