BACKGROUND: After the introduction of instruments for benchmarking, certification and a national guideline for acute @entity158 management, the aim of this study was to describe the current structure, processes and quality of German @entity12761 ( @entity12761 ). METHODS: All directors of German departments of anaesthesiology were invited to complete a postal questionnaire on structures und processes of acute @entity158 management. The survey asked for staff, techniques and quality criteria, which enabled a comparison to previous data from 1999 and surveys from other countries. RESULTS: Four hundred and eight (46%) questionnaires were returned. @entity12761 have increased considerably and are now available in 81% of the hospitals, mainly anaesthesia based. However, only 45% fulfilled the minimum quality criteria, such as the assignment of personnel, the organization of @entity1 care during nights and weekends, written protocols for @entity282 management, regular assessments and documenting @entity158 scores. Staff resources varied considerably, but increased compared to 1999. Two daily rounds were performed in 71%, either by physicians and nurses (42%), by physicians only (25%) or by supervised nurses (31%). Most personnel assigned to the @entity12761 shared this work along with other duties. Only 53% of the hospitals had an integrated rotation for training their specialty trainees. CONCLUSIONS: The availability of @entity12761 in Germany and other countries has increased over the last decade; however, the quality of nearly half of the @entity12761 is questionable. Against the disillusioning background of recently reported unfavourable @entity158 -related @entity1 outcomes, the structures, organization and quality of @entity12761 should be revisited.

A follow-up on Acute XXXX Services in Germany compared to international survey data.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patient'] @entity12761 :: ('MESH:D059787', 'Disease') :: ['acute pain services', 'APS'] @entity282 :: ('MESH:D010149', 'Disease') :: ['postoperative pain'] @entity158 :: ('MESH:D010146', 'Disease') :: ['pain']
@entity158 :: (MESH:D010146,Disease) :: ['Pain']
