[Quality management in the otolaryngology practice].

According to current guidelines, doctors in the German national health system are legally obligated to establish an internal institutional quality management (QM) system. By implementing a goal hierarchy and formalizing procedures according to the PDCA cycle and using additional specialized procedures, continuous improvement in patient care should be achieved. Especially ambitious practices wishing to obtain more rapid certification should orient themselves to the KTQ and QEP models. For the majority of practices, implementing a basic QM system without models as outlined in the G-BA guidelines is recommended. In this way, legal requirements can be met with less cost and effort and the most successful outcome is assured.