title: [Ambulatory care-sensitive conditions: an international overview with conclusions for a German catalogue].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (ACSC) foster to quality measurement in the ambulatory sector. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of existing catalogues of ACSC and to derive insights that support the plan-ned development of an ACSC catalogue for Germany.
  
  
  METHODS
  This article attempts to systemise the discussion on ACSC by delimiting the term from the related concepts of avoidable hospitalisations and avoidable diseases. Based on that, this article develops a definition of ACSC that is valid for the German context, makes a suggestion for the compilation of adequate diagnoses, and proposes how to apply an ACSC catalogue that is specific to Germany. An overview of nine central -articles describing the elaboration of ACSC catalogues in other countries and a first view of the diagnoses they comprise serve as a guidance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The composition of an ACSC catalogue, that is adapted to the German context, is required to account for the local specifics of the German health-care system in order to ensure validity of the quality indicator. Such an outcome indicator for the ambulatory sector may mean a step towards a more outcome-oriented provision of care and may help ensure the quality of the German health-care system.
authors.affiliation: Fachgebiet Management im Gesundheitswesen, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Faisst
authors.affiliation: Fachbereich Health Services Management, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sundmacher
mesh_terms: D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000145:classification* / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005858:Germany; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000592:standards*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D009626:Terminology as Topic