Department of Urology at the KLINIK am RING successfully certified

Since the founding of the Department of Urology in 2000, quality and transparency in the treatment of their patients are a top priority for Dr. Stephan Neubauer and Dr. Pedram Derakhshani. “Especially with modern high-specialized treatment methods, such as brachytherapy (internal radiation therapy) for prostate carcinoma, the success depends on the experience and continuity of the treating staff”, says Dr. Neubauer. „Only physicians who have sufficient experience, and have performed therapies for a high number of patients, can deliver quality“, he continued.

„The quality management system ensures above all transparency of the procedures, optimization of work process, and the compliance with the legal requirements”, explains Dr. Derakhshani. Thus the urology team has worked out a “clinical path” for each clinical picture, in which meticulously all steps are precisely documented: According to Dr. Derakhshani “everything is performed in an accurately defined work schedule, so that the urology team knows exactly what must be done when and how”. Another quality feature of the Department of Urology is the close interdisciplinary cooperation among the radiation therapists at the clinic that resulted from the many years of working together at the West-German Prostate Center (WPZ). Moreover, cooperation with other experts in regional quality circles that developed within the framework of the West-German Prostate Center (WPZ), extend to international scientific cooperation and projects. A component of these cooperation efforts is the Uro-Oncological Congress with renowned European and American scientists that is organized by the WPZ.

„To establish an effective quality management system takes time and a motivated team“, explains Dr. Neubauer. For over one year, the staff of the Urology Department worked with KPU-consulting, a consultancy specializing in quality management for physicians and clinical facilities, to develop high quality standards for the clinic. In regularly conducted seminars and workshops, the renowned consultancy prepared the Urology Department for the certification. “The effort was worth it”, states Dr. Neubauer, because an established quality management system is beneficial for both, the physicians and the patients. Precise documentation allows the patients to follow every step in the treatment and offers comprehensive information about the therapy and the progress. In addition, the Center offers its patients informative educational material about the different treatment types and options. “The intensive and individual care of our patients is our primary concern,” says Dr. Neubauer, “This is one more reason for us to continuously improve the quality of our care”.

The WPZ has also developed a prostate carcinoma databank, in which based on validated patient surveys, relevant parameters concerning the life quality, micturation disorders, and sexual function after the therapy is recorded anonymously. Meanwhile this database is one of the largest of its kind. Scientific findings resulting from this database have already been published at numerous national and international conferences.

In regular intervals, the quality is monitored by an independent consultancy in so-called audits. Dr. Neubauer concludes “The quality management system is not just stashed away in desk drawers, but is continuously developed further. Because only if the work processes and organizational process are continually optimized”, so Neubauer, “can we offer patient-oriented medicine at the highest level of quality“.