Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care


The Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Healthcare is a German agency responsible for assessing the quality and efficiency of medical treatments, including drugs, non-drug interventions, diagnostic and screening methods, and treatment and disease management. IQWiG also supplies health information to patients and the general public.
The organization is independent of the pharmaceutical industry, contracted solely by the Federal Ministry of Health and the Joint Federal Committee.

Structure

IQWiG was founded in 2004 under the directorship of Dr Peter Sawicki, who was replaced in September 2010 by Dr Jürgen Windeler. Its deputy director is Dr Stefan Lange.
IQWiG is divided into the following departments, which publish reports:
General health information, written in plain language, is additionally produced by a Health Information department.
These departments are also supported by Administration and Communication departments.
It regularly communicates with similar organisations in other countries, such as with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in the UK and the Haute Autorité de Santé in France.

Most noticed reports

IQWiG hit international headlines in October 2010 with a report slamming Reboxetine as inefficient and harmful.
Similarly, in September 2010, another study rebuffed the use of Venlafaxine and Duloxetine as first-line treatment in major depression, but recommend them as a second line option.
The use of Memantine in Alzheimer's patients was deemed as insufficiently supported by scientific evidence. This led Merz to publish additional studies, and the Institute to change its mind.
A report in 2010 indicated that long-acting insulin analogues showed no benefits over intermediate-acting insulin for the treatment of type I diabetes.