Quality assurance for dental care

Quality assurance for dental care

Doc. 7484
9 February 1996

Motion for a Recommendation
presented by Mr LATRONICO and others

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only the members who have signed it

            The Assembly,

1.         Referring to its Recommendation 1270 (1995) on a quality pledge in health care and clinical and biological examinations;

2.         Affirming that quality assurance is a task for which the dental profession itself is responsible; quality assurance measures provided for by health insurance organisations are not in accordance with a liberal and independent dental profession;

3.         Stressing that the quality assurance measures which will be and can be carried out will largely depend on the health care systems in individual countries; this means that any European principles cannot simply be applied to a specific country;

4.         Believing that quality assurance has to be understood as a process aiming at an ongoing improvement of treatment, it is, therefore, an essential task of dentists' associations to organise and develop quality assurance programmes;

5.         Noting that the following specific quality assurance measures have proved effective in different European countries:

i.          detailed documentation on diagnosis, treatment planning and execution;

ii.          voluntary and critical monitoring of one's own services;

iii.         critical inspection of one's own workplace with respect to the appropriateness and operational effectiveness of one's own equipment;

iv.         improvement of the exchange of information among colleagues and comparison with other practitioners by taking part in working groups on quality or via the exchange of views among colleagues (feedback);

v.         comparison with the scientific state of the art through in depth continuing postgraduate education from a scientific and technological viewpoint;

6.         Stressing the importance of identifying quality assurance measures of dental care which already exist and are incorporated in the health care system of the country in question, as well as of promoting and implementing the specific quality assurance measures for dental care which are in accordance with such health care systems;

7.         Recommends that the Committee of Ministers establish, within the framework of the implementation of Recommendation 1270 (1995):

i.          a set of specific principles and measures leading to quality assurance in dental care which should be effective in different European countries;

ii.          a draft European regulation on dental professional ethics which should be compatible with the specific requirements of individual countries and should not impose constraints on the exercise of a liberal and independent dental profession.

Signed:
Latronico, Italy, LDR
Benvenuti, Italy, SOC
Bugli, San Marino, EPP
Caputo, Italy, EPP
De Decker, Belgium, LDR
Dionisi, Italy, UEL
Jeambrun, France, LDR
La Russa, Italy, EPP
Pavlidis, Greece, EPP
Serra, Italy, LDR
Widmann, Italy, EPP

*          SOC : Socialist Group
            EPP : Group of the European People's Party
            EDG : European Democratic Group
            LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers Group
            UEL : Group of the Unified European Left