Background: Transparency by means of quality indicators is regarded as a method for monitoring and improving the quality of care. In the Dutch mental health service (GGZ) a generic basic set of indicators has been developed, but it is not clear whether the set is suitable for use in child and adolescent psychiatry.
Aim: To assess whether the GGZ Basic Set of performance indicators for 2007-2008 was suitable for use in a child and adolescent psychiatric setting and to detect any omissions in that set.
Method: A heterogeneous national group of eight health professionals and five ‘stakeholders' in child and adolescent mental health judged the existing Basic Set by means of a Delphi procedure consisting of two written rounds and a panel discussion. The experts assessed potential indicators with regard to necessity, validity, clarity and applicability to child and adolescent psychiatry using a scale of 0 to 9. Indicators scoring more than 7 were considered to be appropriate.
Results: Only two of the 54 indicators were considered appropriate. A lower cut-off point would leave 16 indicators, of which 10 related to the outcome of treatment. One of the nine proposed innovative indicators was added.
Conclusion: Very few of the indicators in the Basic Set were considered to be suitable for use in child and adolescent psychiatry. Respondents expressed a preference for a limited number of indicators that emphasised the opinion of the patient and of parents rather than the outcomes of treatment.