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status quo of quo vadis? - KCE

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<strong>KCE</strong> Reports 76 Quality development in general practice in Belgium: <strong>status</strong> <strong>quo</strong> or <strong>quo</strong> <strong>vadis</strong> ? 15<br />

Most <strong>of</strong> the studies reported chronic conditions. Gaps were identified for quality<br />

initiatives in relation with acute care, preventive care and non-technical aspects <strong>of</strong> care.<br />

Grimshaw et al 45 undertook a systematic review to study the effectiveness and costs <strong>of</strong><br />

different guideline development, dissemination and implementation strategies.<br />

Studies on cost-effectiveness <strong>of</strong> dissemination and implementation strategies are scarce.<br />

Multifaceted interventions (encompassing practice visits or written materials) do not<br />

seem to be more effective than simple interventions. From a cost-effectiveness<br />

standpoint, the simple dissemination <strong>of</strong> guidelines may be therefore more cost-effective<br />

than interventions with multiple components.<br />

The review <strong>of</strong> Holden studied the effectiveness <strong>of</strong> audits in the UK. Substantial<br />

resources are needed to design and to implement audits. It is hard to study their<br />

isolated effects because audit is <strong>of</strong>ten a part <strong>of</strong> a multi targeted strategy, including for<br />

instance peer review. 46<br />

2.3.3 Effectiveness <strong>of</strong> peer reviews, practice visits and audits<br />

2.3.3.1 Audit<br />

2.3.3.2 Peer review<br />

Most audits use a few indicators only, <strong>of</strong>ten derived from guidelines. The agreement on<br />

the validity <strong>of</strong> the indicators used is <strong>of</strong>ten low, with a risk that audit would not measure<br />

what is intended to. 47 Many GPs do not seem able to apply audit techniques. 48 There is<br />

little evidence that audit procedures improve quality <strong>of</strong> care in the practice and Holden<br />

concludes that audits seem to be moderately effective. 46<br />

The effectiveness <strong>of</strong> peer review is questionable but there is some evidence that this<br />

may lead to improved test ordering in the Netherlands. 49 There is a lack <strong>of</strong> evidence on<br />

39, 38<br />

the effectiveness in Belgium, as detailed in chapters 1 and 4.<br />

2.3.3.3 Practice visit<br />

A practice is visited by a peer or, as in the Netherlands, by a specialised practice<br />

assistant or practice manager. Van den Hombergh et al. published a comparison<br />

between the scores <strong>of</strong> practice visits in single-handed and group practices. 50 Two<br />

preliminary projects in Australia and in the UK only showed the satisfaction <strong>of</strong> the<br />

51, 52<br />

participants.<br />

2.3.4 Quality indicators<br />

The former <strong>KCE</strong> study reviewed the definitions <strong>of</strong> quality indicators and clinical quality<br />

indicators. 3 One conclusion is the absence <strong>of</strong> clear-cut difference between the<br />

definitions <strong>of</strong> quality indicators and clinical quality indicators. All definitions agree on the<br />

fact that quality indicators measure a specific aspect <strong>of</strong> care.<br />

In general practice, the most frequently used definition <strong>of</strong> quality indicators also refers<br />

to ‘a measurable element <strong>of</strong> practice that can be used to assess the quality <strong>of</strong> care. 53<br />

The main domains <strong>of</strong> indicators are the following ones:<br />

• Organisational and management indicators. This field is emerging: the<br />

Nijmegen Group had some publications whilst those indicators also play now<br />

54, 43, 55<br />

an important role in the UK.<br />

• Patients´ experiences deal with how patients perceive the structure and<br />

process <strong>of</strong> care. Van den Hombergh describes the use <strong>of</strong> the EUROPEP<br />

patient questionnaire that was validated in Europe 50 It is currently also part <strong>of</strong><br />

the European Practice Assessment tool.<br />

• Clinical indicators. They relate to the clinical work in GP. They mostly relate<br />

54, 56<br />

to chronic conditions or prevention.<br />

An indicator is a measurement <strong>of</strong> a small part <strong>of</strong> the structure, process or outcome.<br />

The paper from Campbell et al. and the <strong>KCE</strong> report on clinical quality indicators listed<br />

the following attributes <strong>of</strong> a good indicator 57, 58, 3 . The measurement-related technical

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