Evaluation of dental guidelines by quality circles (ELL-QZ)




IDZ-Information No. 4/08
Bergmann-Krauss, B., Micheelis, W., Szecsenyi, J.
Evaluation of dental guidelines by quality circles (ELL-QZ)

Abstract
The purpose of evidence-based guidelines in medical and dental care in Germany is an intensely debated issue, which focuses increasingly on the practical benefits of the guidelines and only to a lesser extent on the intellectual architecture of guideline concepts themselves.

During the last years the Agency for Quality in Dentistry (ZZQ) in the Institute of German Dentists (IDZ) with the support of dental scientists has developed three ”pilot guidelines” which were published in electronic and written form. These are the guidelines on the topics ”fissure sealing”, ”fluoridation measures” and ”surgical removal of third molars”.

In a pilot project of the ZZQ the three guidelines were evaluated by practising dentists with the aim to systematically enlighten the perceived benefits of their implementation. To this end the three guidelines were distributed to over 100 practising dentists via 13 dental quality circles in Hamburg and in a pre-post analysis over a period of approximately four months the ”benefit delta” was determined. The following final report entitled "Evaluation of dental guidelines by quality circles (ELL-QZ)" summarizes the most important results of this pilot project. In principal it becomes evident that working with guidelines in practice routine definitely reduces various prejudices of the participants which are associated with lacking practical experience, instruments of cost reduction or constraints for the dentist. On the other hand several barriers as e.g. different expectations of the patients or a lack of incentives to use guidelines remain unchanged or even increase slightly. However, in total the quality circles show an open-mindedness concerning this new topic for the dental profession.

The authors of this report are Dipl.-Soz. Barbara Bergmann-Krauss/Agency for Quality in Dentistry (ZZQ), Dr. Wolfgang Micheelis/Institute of German Dentists (IDZ) and Prof. Dr. Joachim Szecsenyi/University of Heidelberg.

The complete report is available only in German [http://www.idz-koeln.de/info.htm?www3.idz-koeln.de/idzpubl3.nsf/(veroeff-I-NEU)/D6C36CDE66073741C12574C60036AAF8]