Open AccessImprovement of a national public health surveillance system through use of a quality circle
Author(s) -
Gérard Krause,
Justus Benzler,
G Reiprich,
R. Görgen
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
euro surveillance/eurosurveillance
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.766
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1560-7917
pISSN - 1025-496X
DOI - 10.2807/esm.11.11.00659-en
Subject(s) - public health , quality (philosophy) , medicine , multidisciplinary approach , public health surveillance , environmental health , medical emergency , public relations , political science , nursing , law , philosophy , epistemology
Surveillance systems for infectious diseases build the basis for effective public health measures in the prevention and control of infectious diseases. Assessing and improving the quality of such national surveillance systems is a challenge, as many different administrations and professions contribute to a complex system in which sensitive information must be exchanged in a reliable and timely fashion. We conducted a multidisciplinary quality circle on the national public health surveillance system in Germany which included clinicians, laboratory physicians, and staff from local and state health departments as well as from the Robert Koch-Institut. The recommendations resulting from the quality circle included proposals to change the federal law for the control of infectious diseases as well as practical activities such as the change of notification forms and the mailing of faxed information letters to clinicians. A number of recommendations have since been implemented, and some have resulted in measurable improvements. This demonstrates that the applied method of quality circle is a useful tool to improve the quality of national public health surveillance systems.