Qualitätssicherung eines universellen Neugeborenen-Hörscreenings

Abstract

Statutory implementation of a universal newborn hearing screening requires a continuous quality assurance monitoring. Therefore, at the Annual Meeting in 2007, the members of the German Society of Phoniatrics and Pediatric Audiology passed a recommendation on measures of quality assurance applied to newborn hearing screening. This recommendation describes the procedures, performance, location, time frame, and technical prerequisites of the screening and of potentially necessary follow-ups, the definition of hearing loss to be detected, the performing and responsible professional groups and their qualifications for the screening, the regulation of repeat and control screenings, the confirmation diagnostics and initiation of therapy, the information of parents, the documentation of screening results, the aims and organization of a tracking system, the tasks of regional screening centers and of a supraregional institution for the quality assurance of the hearing screening, the central collection of person and screening-related quality relevant data, and the accessibility of defined data sets as predisposition for cost analyses and quality reports.

Interdisciplinary approach to design, performance, and quality management in a multicenter newborn hearing screening project

“…In Hamburg, hearing aid fitting and beginning of early rehabilitation was even earlier. UNHS programs result in an earlier time point for the adjustment of hearing aid devices than for children without UNHS [25,26,35,56,75]. An analysis of efficiency by the UNHS program in Hessen showed a reduction of the median age at treatment of the non-UNHS group from 21 to 3.5 months for the UNHS group.…”

Effect of Neonatal Hearing Screening Results on the Lost to Follow-Up at the Diagnostic Level

“…It was emphasized that an important aspect is better communication between healthcare providers and the patient monitoring system. In some German Länder, centers have centralized databases to identify and monitor children who have failed a valid test result or have not actually been screened [ 12 ]. These experiences show the need for further improvement in the standardization, collection, and reporting of information in PUNHSP.…”

Hearing impairment and language delay in infants: Diagnostics and genetics

“…Many screening centers train the staff in the maternity hospitals and are a competent partner for all aspects of hearing screening and confirmation of diagnosis. This significantly increases the quality of hearing screening [ 5 ], [ 9 ]. In the catchment area of the hearing screening center Nordrhein, 96.4% of the screening tests of approximately 37,000 children in 2012 were unremarkable, 3.6% needed follow-up, and 3.3% needed additional follow-up investigations.…”

“…The existing hearing screening centers thus make an important contribution to the effective implementation of children directive. They guarantee the early care of the children and quality assurance in the area of hearing screening [ 9 ], [ 14 ], [ 15 ], [ 16 ], [ 17 ]. The financing of the screening centers is not regulated.…”