Hello again! Today, I’m completing the series on quality assurance today with quality contracts for hospitals in Germany.
In the next post, I will briefly update you on the latest reform announcements from the German health minister, before I move on to the first directive on biosimilars!
What are quality contracts?
Since 1 August 2018, the G-BA is testing whether specific incentives can further increase the quality of treatments. The G-BA picked four specific areas, where this hypothesis should be trialled in:
- care for endoprosthetic joints,
- prevention of post-operative delirium in elderly patients,
- weaning from respirators of long-term ventilated patients and
- hospital care of people with intellectual or multiple severe disabilities.
To this end, so-called quality contracts are agreed upon between SHI funds and hospitals. The legal basis for these contracts is §110a SGB V.
Process
When SHI funds and hospitals agree on a quality contract, both sides decide on the quality goals and the incentives. There are different models for the incentives, such as one-off payments or outcome-based payments, but also recommendations of the specific hospital by the SHI fund.
Then, they need to register the contract with the IQTiG. As part of this, a project plan needs to be submitted, which will be reviewed by the IQTiG.
The contracts are time-limited for 4 years. Throughout the time period covered by the contract, hospitals and SHI funds have to share data and reports on the covered treatments. In the end, there will also be a final survey.
Existing quality contracts
Since December 2021, every month, the G-BA publishes an updated list of all agreed quality contracts. This allows SHI funds and hospitals to review and consider whether they’d like to join an existing contract. Patients on the other hand can see which hospitals are part of a quality contract, which might help to decide on where they might want to receive specific hospital treatment.
Every quality contract states which SHI funds and hospitals are participating, which treatments are subject to the contract, and what are the specific quality goals.
Further reading related to QA in Germany
- Minimum case numbers in Germany
- The G-BA specifies QA requirements for cell and gene therapies in Germany
- Disease management programmes in Germany – IQWiG says it’s time for an update
- Which quality requirements apply to ATMPs in Germany?
Newsletter
If you liked this post and don’t want to miss the next one, sign up for my free weekly newsletter!