Lesson 1.2 · 6 min
The 23 quality criteria at a glance
Open in the coursewith narrated slides, a checklist to tick off and a quiz
At a glance
- 23 criteria. The QS-VO 2024 sets out what a practice must meet: 23 quality criteria, each in its own paragraph.
- What the questionnaire asks. Paragraphs 4 to 14 and 16 to 26. Continuing education in § 15 is checked separately by the Akademie der Ärzte.
- One criterion is voluntary. The quality-management aspects of § 26 never count as a deficiency.
- What the peers see. The records for paragraphs 4 to 14 and 16 to 24, and two anonymised patient files.
In detail
All 23 criteria
The names translate the regulation's. The last column shows the lesson that covers each.
| § | Criterion | What it's about | Lesson |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Patient care: availability | Availability, cover, urgent appointments, home visits, information in advance | 2.1 |
| 5 | Premises | Rooms, toilet, confidentiality, smoking ban | 3.1 |
| 6 | Fire safety, health and safety at work | Fire extinguishers, workplace risk assessment | 4.1, 4.2 |
| 7 | Hygiene | The Medical Chamber's Hygiene Regulation, animals, plants | 6.1–6.4 |
| 8 | Emergency preparedness | Emergency plan, instruction, emergency training | 5.1 |
| 9 | Emergency equipment | Equipment, maintenance, emergency numbers | 5.2 |
| 10 | Availability and quality of medicines, reagents | Expiry, storage, reporting side effects | 7.1 |
| 11 | Handling and recording narcotics | Records, storage, vignettes, disposal | 7.2 |
| 12 | Medical consumables | Quantity, storage, expiry | 7.3 |
| 13 | Technical equipment | Maintenance, safety checks, manuals | 7.4 |
| 14 | Laboratory tests | Proficiency testing | 7.5 |
| 15 | Continuing medical education | The duty to train, proven via the Akademie der Ärzte | 8.1 |
| 16 | Deployment of staff | Device training, duties, cover, confidentiality, IT provider's confirmation | 8.2–8.4 |
| 17 | Patient history and records | Records, access protection, ten-year retention | 9.1 |
| 18 | Managing and forwarding results | Keeping results in order and sending them safely | 9.2 |
| 19 | Communicating with and informing patients | Informed consent, passing on results | 2.2 |
| 20 | Interdisciplinary cooperation | Working with other specialties and professions | 2.3 |
| 21 | Access to treatment and diagnosis | Step-free access, appointments, waiting times | 3.2 |
| 22 | Internal communication | Meetings, feedback, a yearly safety talk | 8.5 |
| 23 | Adverse events and patient safety | Recording, finding causes, informing the patient | 10.1 |
| 24 | Complaints management | Written instructions, causes, patient representation | 2.4 |
| 25 | Equipment | Basic equipment, specialty equipment per Annex 1 | 3.3 |
| 26 | Quality-management aspects | Voluntary: QM system, quality circles, patient surveys and more | 10.2 |
Three special cases
- § 15 continuing education is not in the questionnaire. The Akademie der Ärzte checks it and reports the result to ÖQMED § 27(3). It must be met for the certificate § 41 no. 1.
- § 26 quality management is voluntary and never counts as a deficiency § 31(2).
- § 25 equipment: missing specialty equipment for a service you offer is a deficiency § 31(2).
What the peers want to see
On an on-site visit you must make the records for §§ 4 to 14 and 16 to 24 available § 33(7). The simplest way is one folder, on paper or digital, with a section per criterion.
Checklist
- Each criterion has a responsible person in the practice.
- For each criterion it's clear which records prove it.
- The records for §§ 4–14 and 16–24 are kept in order.
- Your continuing-education record (§ 15) is up to date.
Quiz
Which criterion can never count as a deficiency?
- § 25 equipment
- § 8 emergency preparedness
- § 17 patient history and records
- § 26 quality-management aspects
Show the answer
The answer is D: § 26 quality-management aspects. § 31(2): the results for § 26 never count as a deficiency; ÖQMED only evaluates them in aggregate.
Sources
This lesson's statements rest on:
Not legal advice. What counts is the text of the QS-VO 2024 in the Federal Legal Information System (version of 3 October 2026) and the Austrian Medical Chamber's Hygiene Regulation 2014. Not an offer of ÖQMED, the BIQG or the Medical Chamber.