The German Agency for Quality in Medicine (AQuMed/ÄZQ) is the German Physicians' Centre of Excellence for Evidence based Medicine, Knowledge Management and Patient Safety. Established in 1995 and located in Berlin, the institute co-ordinates healthcare quality programmes with special focus on evidence-based medicine, medical guidelines, patient empowerment, patient safety programs, and quality management. AQUMED is a non-profit organization owned by the German Medical Association (www.baek.de) and the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (www.kbv.de). The Agency was co-founder of the German Network for Evidence based Medicine DNEbM (www.dnebm.de) and of the Guidelines International Network G-I-N (www.g-i-n.net).