Lesson 1.1 · 6 min
The self-evaluation today
Open in the coursewith narrated slides, a checklist to tick off and a quiz
At a glance
- The self-evaluation. Anyone running a dental practice as a self-employed dentist must evaluate its quality regularly and send the result to the Dental Chamber.
- The ÖZÄK-QSV 2022. How that works is set by the Dental Chamber's Quality Assurance Regulation 2022. It has applied since 1 January 2023 and was last amended from 1 May 2025.
- Eight weeks. The questions come after your certificate expires or after you open a new practice. You must answer them within eight weeks, at your own cost.
- Every five years. The Dental Chamber names a five-year rhythm. Until the end of 2027 the evaluation still runs under this regulation.
- Grounds for termination. If the evaluation doesn't happen through your own fault, that's a serious breach of professional duty and grounds for ending your contract with the health insurer.
In detail
The duty
Self-employed members of the dental profession with a practice in Austria, and dental group practices, must "regularly carry out a comprehensive evaluation of quality and send the results to the Austrian Dental Chamber (self-evaluation)" § 22(1) ZÄG. This version has applied since 1 July 2026 § 90(19) ZÄG.
The regulation
What is evaluated, and how, is set by the Austrian Dental Chamber's Quality Assurance Regulation 2022 (ÖZÄK-QSV 2022). It has applied since 1 January 2023 § 16(1) QSV; its 1st amendment brought the hygiene criterion in line with the new hygiene regulation from 1 May 2025 § 16(2) QSV. It applies to all self-employed dentists and Dentisten with one or two practice locations, and to the partners of group practices § 2 QSV.
The evaluation is run by an "institution for quality assurance" that the chamber commissions and that is independent of the chamber's bodies § 3 no. 1 QSV. The chamber names medQ.at – Dr. Roman Haas Medical Quality GmbH for this, and a five-year rhythm (Dental Chamber, quality assurance).
The process
| Step | Deadline | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| The institution sends all the evaluation questions, electronically or on paper | within eight weeks of the quality certificate expiring, or of learning that a practice has opened | § 7(1) QSV |
| You answer the questions and send them back, at your own cost | within eight weeks | § 7(2) QSV |
| The institution checks them for completeness and plausibility and evaluates them | within 21 days | § 7(3) QSV |
| Some practices are visited | a random sample, at least 3% | § 8 QSV |
The questions are derived from 15 binding criteria: nine on structural quality § 5 QSV and six on process quality § 6 QSV. Section 2 of this course goes through them one by one. Only features you are responsible for and can influence yourself are assessed § 4(1) QSV.
If the evaluation doesn't happen
If the evaluation doesn't happen for reasons you are responsible for, or if it shows an immediate danger to health, that is a serious breach of professional duty and grounds for terminating the contract with the health insurer under § 343(4) ASVG, where the standards of process and structural quality are affected § 22(2) ZÄG.
Until the end of 2027
The chamber's power to issue the regulation lapsed at the end of 30 June 2026. The evaluation running at that point continues under the existing regulation and must be completed by 31 December 2027 at the latest § 90(15) ZÄG § 126(15) ZÄKG. Lesson 1.3 explains what comes after.
Checklist
- We know until when our quality certificate is valid.
- We expect the questions shortly after it expires, and then have eight weeks.
- Someone in the practice is responsible for answering the questions and keeping the evidence ready.
- We know the 15 criteria and which records go with them.
- We know that a missed evaluation can put the insurer contract at risk.
Quiz
How long do you have to answer the evaluation questions?
- Until the end of the calendar year
- Two weeks
- Eight weeks
- Six months
Show the answer
The answer is C: Eight weeks. Every dentist must answer the evaluation questions within eight weeks and return them at their own cost (§ 7(2) ÖZÄK-QSV 2022).
Sources
This lesson's statements rest on:
- Dentists Act (Zahnärztegesetz, ZÄG) § 22, Federal Legal Information System (RIS), in German, version of 7 October 2026
- Dentists Act (Zahnärztegesetz, ZÄG) § 90, Federal Legal Information System (RIS), in German, version of 7 October 2026
- Dental Chamber Act (Zahnärztekammergesetz, ZÄKG) § 126, Federal Legal Information System (RIS), in German, version of 7 October 2026
- The Austrian Dental Chamber's Quality Assurance Regulation 2022 (ÖZÄK-QSV 2022), consolidated with the 1st amendment of 2025, the chamber's PDF, in German
- Austrian Dental Chamber: quality assurance, in German (read on 7 October 2026)
Not legal advice. What counts is the acts and regulations in the Federal Legal Information System and the Austrian Dental Chamber's regulations (read on 7 October 2026). The health minister's regulation with the criteria from 2028 (§ 9b(2) GQG) had not been issued on that day. Not covered are insurer contracts, billing, data protection in detail and the employer's duties under the Worker Protection Act in detail; there is a separate course on those at aschg.globalapps.top. Not an offer of the Austrian Dental Chamber, a regional dental chamber, the BIQG or the Chamber of Commerce.