[The value and role of certification systems : An assessment by IQTIG].

Certificates are a widely spread feature in health care. In musculoskeletal care, certifications serve the purpose of signalling specialisation, expertise and quality. They are intended to help patients as a means of support and orientation. For health care providers, certificates can help structuring and improving health care processes. But certification programs may significantly differ in various aspects, such as objectives, transparency, duration of validity, stakeholder involvement, as well as evidence base. For both patients and health care providers it often remains unclear what informative strength a certificate offers and what it implies regarding the quality of care. This article illustrates how certification systems may differ in their formal robustness, transparency and informative strength by using two examples from musculoskeletal care. Transparent structured, evidence-based and independently governed certification processes are essential for certificates to be a meaningful orientation in health care. The results of the assessment show that certificates vary in their design and fulfil the criteria set in different ways.