Editorial 2020
From consideration of the revision of the Health Care Insurance Act (KVG) to restructuring ANQ; routine activities and special projects: the committees and administrative office of ANQ look back on a most unconventional year in which COVID-19 played a major role.
The revised Health Care Insurance Act (KVG) and its effects were not only the focus of the Q-Day 2020 in January. The Board and administrative office addressed the new provisions – particularly Article 58a relating to quality development agreements – throughout the year, as the revision of the KVG involves a significant shift with regard to responsibilities. Whereas strategic course-setting was previously the concern of the ANQ Board, strategic decisions will in future be made by the quality agreement partners – the associations of service providers and insurers.
It’s clear to the Board that ANQ is ideally positioned to take on specialised tasks on behalf of the member organisations, even under the new conditions. During its retreat and extraordinary meetings, the Board discussed various scenarios and developed a concrete proposal for specifically developing the services offered by ANQ in line with Article 58a KVG. In addition to the new legal requirements, the survey carried out by ANQ in 2019 to determine the current status of its stakeholders also played a crucial role.
The proposal prepared by the Board positions ANQ as a centre of competence for quality development, which is in line with the mission defined in its statutes. ANQ plans to use its network of experts and to work together with third parties to systematically extend its quality review activities and provide additional services that are tailored to the quality agreements. The intention is that ANQ should remain in future what makes it so special today: an organisation in which all important stakeholders in the healthcare sector are represented and through which they are in regular contact with each other.
It will only be possible to resolve many outstanding aspects in the course of 2021. ANQ is committed to ensuring that what has already been developed is scrupulously preserved for future continuation. It was only the extensive collaboration between all parties that made it possible to set so many things in motion in the area of quality. This common basis and culture of constructive dialogue must be maintained, as they have been key to the success achieved over the past ten years.
Even in 2020, the year of coronavirus, the ANQ committees were able to initiate countless special projects – such as pilot reviews of outpatient care in hospitals and clinics. That is no mean feat. Some of the individuals involved on the Board and in the quality committees and expert groups were subject to very high levels of stress in their workplaces due to the pandemic. They nevertheless continued to contribute their expertise and time to ANQ for which we are very grateful! We would also like to thank our member and partner organisations, all service providers and the authorities for the excellent level of collaboration. We look forward to taking the next steps towards permanent quality development with you!
Dr. Petra Busch, Managing Director
Thomas Straubhaar, President