germany_flag  Cologne, Germany

“We support evidence-based decision making in health care by providing independent and transparent reports on benefits and harms of medical interventions as well as concepts and methods for high-quality evidence generation.“ – Dr. Thomas Kaiser, Director, IQWiG

 

History and structure

With the Health Care Modernization Act in 2003, legislation enabled the establishment of a new institute, independent of the state, within the German healthcare system. In June 2004, the Federal Joint Committee (Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss, G-BA) established the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) as a non-profit, non-governmental, private foundation with legal status.

IQWiG is financed by contributions from the statutory health insurance and may also accept funding from the Federal Ministry of Health. Both Federal Joint Committee and Federal Ministry of Health commission the institute.

Seven departments and four units hold different responsibilities, both scientific and non-scientific:

Departments

  • Administration
  • Drug Assessment
  • Health Care and Health Economics
  • Health Information
  • Information Management
  • Medical Biometry
  • Non-Drug Interventions

Units

  • Communications Unit
  • International Affairs Unit
  • Legal Unit
  • Quality Assurance Unit

Mission

The Institute’s primary goal is to contribute to evidence-based decision making in health care in Germany.

IQWiG undertakes and publishes assessments addressing the effectiveness, quality, and efficiency of health services, and is particularly active in the following areas: evaluation of the benefits and harms of drug and non-drug interventions, HTA reports based on topics suggested by citizens, and provision to the public of easily understandable general health information. IQWiG also develops concepts and methods for high-quality evidence generation.

How IQWiG Works

Independent – patient-oriented – evidence-based – transparent: These are the most important principles of IQWiG’s work.

Independent

  • We are independent in our scientific work. Neither industry nor health insurance funds nor authorities can influence the content of our reports.
  • Everyone involved in working on an Institute report must disclose all relationships which could influence the work and the results.

Patient-oriented

  • The main criterion in the assessment of an examination or treatment method is the benefit for patients. Does the intervention prolong life or reduce symptoms? Does it improve the patient’s quality of life? To answer these questions, we regularly consult affected patients about their perspective.
  • Moreover, in the assessment, the question arises as to how patients weight different aspects (e.g., pain reduction or side effects). IQWiG therefore tested methods for determining such patient preferences.
  • The Institute provides neutral health information based on current medical knowledge so that patients can make informed decisions on healthcare interventions.
  • In IQWiG’s „ThemenCheck Medizin“, members of the public can propose medical topics for the assessment of examination and treatment procedures. If a proposal refers to an urgent and still open medical question, a so-called ThemenCheck report (an HTA report) is produced in collaboration with external researchers.

Evidence-based

  • Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is a fundamental basis of our work. It denotes health care that is not based solely on personal opinions and conventions, but on evidence. Our reports are, therefore, based on scientific evidence from the medical literature worldwide.
  • We regularly include medical experts in our assessments, ensuring that knowledge from every-day health care is also considered in our reports.
  • As a scientific institute, we cooperate closely with other research institutions and networks on a national and international level.

Transparent

  • We not only publish the final versions of our assessments but also intermediate stages of certain types of reports. In such cases, all interested parties can submit comments on these intermediate stages.
  • We inform about new assessments, updates, and opportunities for participation (comments, calls for tender) via the IQWiG info service (available in German only).

For methodological details, please refer to our methods paper .

Dissemination Activities

IQWiG publishes its methods and the preliminary and final results of its work on the website www.iqwig.de. This information is targeted towards a scientific audience.

As part of its legislative mandate to inform the public, IQWiG’s Health Information Department provides independent, evidence-based and easily understandable information for patients and the general community on the website www.gesundheitsinformation.de  (available in English under www.informedhealth.org ). The website includes information based on the Institute’s own scientific publications and on patient information commissioned by the Federal Joint Committee or the Federal Ministry of Health.

With this information, IQWiG aims to:

  • Enable the general public to make active and informed decisions on health questions.
  • Encourage the critical use of health-related services.
  • Improve knowledge about physical, mental and emotional health.
  • Improve comprehension of medical and scientific information.
  • Enable patients to be supported by their family and friends.

Dissemination activities also involve communication with the press and on social media, as well as the organization of and participation in scientific meetings and workshops.

Current Projects

Details on projects and results are available on the IQWiG website .

Future Plans

Within the framework of EU-wide Health Technology Assessment (Joint Clinical Assessment, JCA), starting in 2025, both IQWiG and G-BA will focus even more on cooperation in Europe.

 

Agency Information

Country: Germany
Description of population served: All Germans with statutory health insurance
Population served (mil): 70
Current HTA budget (mil USD): 37.5 (2023)
Permanent staff: 280 (2023)
Consultants: variable
Ongoing TA projects: variable, details on projects and results are available on the IQWiG website .

Contact Information

Director: Dr. Thomas Kaiser
Contact person: Dr. Alric Rüther

Institut für Qualität und Wirtschaftlichkeit im Gesundheitswesen
Am Mediapark 8,
50670 Cologne
Germany

Tel: +49 221 35685-0
Internet: http://www.iqwig.de
Email: info@iqwig.de