About IQM

Quality of care can be measured, and it must be made transparent and improved for the benefit of all patients.

The goal of IQM is to shine light on potential improvements in healthcare quality and to promote active error management. The patient is at the centre of IQM member hospitals’ endeavours to improve quality.

With its advanced quality methodology, IQM stands for:

  1. 1

    ... An open attitude towards errors and a proven method for improving quality in medicine

  2. 2

    ... Stimulating the exchange of information across operators and between the internal quality management systems of its member hospitals

  3. 3

    ... Hospitals that demonstrate exceptional commitment and courage to improve the quality of their medical care

  4. 4

    ... Responsible managers who seek to actively improve quality and who are open to learning from each other in both constructive and critical dialogue

Towards the Best Possible Quality of Care

IQM brings together stakeholders from across the healthcare system to establish standards for quality transparency in medical outcomes:

 

  • Medical societies and health insurance companies help to develop and improve our methodology, namely the quality indicators based on routine data.
  • The AOK Research Institute (WIdO) and IQM have partnered to promote cross-sector measurement of treatment quality and expand the foundation for healthcare research across operators and sectors.
  • The German Medical Association and numerous state medical associations assist with the implementation of peer reviews to analyse and improve treatment procedures and structures.

From the Beginning:

Transparency and Competition for optimal Medical Outcomes

With the conviction that it was possible to consistently improve the quality of patient care, fifteen leading hospital operators joined together to found the IQM. Founded in 2008 as the “Club der Mutigen” (Club of the Courageous), IQM has since established itself as the largest voluntary quality initiative in the German healthcare system.

Public, private, university and non-profit faith-based hospital operators founded the IQM as an inter-organisational platform with the aim of exchanging ideas and learning from each other.

The founders were united by the following four insights from their work in the healthcare system:

Common Vision

  1. 1

    Quality is the shared responsibility of everyone working in the healthcare field

  2. 2

    Quality requires an open and active approach to errors

  3. 3

    Quality requires control based on fair benchmarks

  4. 4

    Quality requires support amongst colleagues and peers

The Founders

Helios Kliniken GmbH, Johanniter GmbH Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft für soziale Einrichtungen, Hanover Medical School (MHH), MTG Malteser Trägergesellschaft gGmbH, SRH Kliniken GmbH, the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus at TU Dresden, the Vereinigung Berufsgenossenschaftlicher Kliniken, the University Hospital Basel and the Berlin Chamber of Physicians founded the initiative in 2008. Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Damp Holding AG, Gesundheit Nordhessen Holding AG, Klinikum Saarbrücken gGmbH, Klinikum St. Elisabeth Straubing GmbH and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München were added as additional founders in 2009.