Quality criteria for psychosomatic consultation-liaison service

Abstract

Besides the integrated psychosomatic models in various medical specialities (e.g. Internal medicine, Obstetrics and Gynaecology or Paediatrics), specific models of cooperation in the form of consultation-liaison (C-L) service between specialised psychosomatic-psychotherapeutic departments and other medical departments play a crucial role in providing psychosomatic care to patients. The concept 'liaison' expresses a particularly close form of cooperative activity, going far beyond the classical model of consultation services. In this context, the psychosomatic consultant has not only a fixed organised presence in the provision of patient care, he/she also participates in case discussions, hospital rounds, ward discussions and continuing education programmes of the 'partner' department. Thus, the liaison service is not only patient-centred, but also team-centred. Such consultation-liaison services, in Austria, were first established at the University Hospitals. As a consequence of laws regulating psychotherapeutic care, according to which such care is to be offered in general hospitals, increasingly C-L services are becoming part of regular care provision in more and more hospitals. Consensus groups, international as well as in German-speaking countries, are currently working on establishing quality standards in the area of psychosomatic C-L services. A working group of the scientific medical representatives has recently published guidelines for the structure, process and results of quality control. A second group, of the European Association of Consultation Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatics, is currently working on guidelines for training consultation-liaison service providers. In the present article, an overview of these projects will be presented and the results discussed against the background of the specific health policy situation in Austria.