[Benchmarks for surgical gynecology: results of the German Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics Quality Assurance Study].

Profiling of performance and quality in gynecological surgery is discussed. Unfortunately, most report cards miss valid clinical benchmarks. Within the German study on quality assurance in gynecological surgery we explored whether indicators of quality were suitable as clinical benchmarks. Using a factor analytic approach, we reduced the number of indicators and obtained in a set of 13 indicators of clinical quality. On the basis of the study data on post operative infections we show that these indicators are suitable as clinical benchmarks: the clinical benchmarks are able to make health care quality transparent and demonstrate opportunities for improvement of the processes of gynecological care.