The short answer: no
There is no expert standard on thromboprophylaxis. The German Network for Quality Development in Nursing (DNQP) currently publishes eleven expert standards. Thromboprophylaxis is not among them.
The question still comes up regularly — in care planning, in exam preparation and ahead of quality inspections. Understandably so: there is a standard for pressure ulcers and one for falls, but none for the third classic prophylaxis. Anyone searching for it is searching for something that does not exist.
The standards that do exist
- Pressure ulcer prevention in nursing
- Discharge management in nursing
- Fall prevention in nursing
- Pain management in nursing, acute pain
- Pain management in nursing, chronic pain
- Promotion of urinary continence in nursing
- Care of people with chronic wounds
- Nutritional management to secure and promote oral nutrition
- Relationship building in the care of people with dementia
- Promotion of physiological birth
- Promotion and maintenance of mobility
As of 09 September 2026, retrieved from dnqp.de. The current overview published there is always authoritative.
What applies instead
The professional basis for thromboprophylaxis is the S3 guideline “Prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism (VTE)” (AWMF 003-001), currently version 4.1 of January 2026. The difference from an expert standard matters: the guideline is a medical document. It orders risk, indication and method — it does not describe how nursing delivers, documents and evaluates the measure. That would be the job of an expert standard.
For nursing this means there is no profession-owned norm to follow. Orientation has to be assembled from three sources.
1. The S3 guideline for the measures
It distinguishes three groups (statement 6.1): basic measures, physical measures and pharmacological measures. The basic measures — early mobilisation, movement exercises and instruction in self-directed exercises — carry grade B and should be applied regularly in all patients (recommendation 3.1); in patients at low VTE risk even at grade A (6.2). This is nursing work. More under movement exercises for thromboprophylaxis.
2. Two adjacent expert standards
The standard “Promotion and maintenance of mobility” covers exactly the basic measure the guideline names first. Implementing it means contributing to thromboprophylaxis without the word being used.
The standard “Discharge management” addresses the point where an initiated prophylaxis is most likely to break off. The S3 guideline explicitly requires handover to those continuing treatment when responsibility changes, so that VTE prophylaxis remains uninterrupted (recommendation 10.4).
3. Order, delivery, documentation
The indication remains a medical decision. Nursing carries responsibility for delivery: correct application, observation of skin and symptoms, verifiable documentation. Where devices are used, documented instruction under Section 4 (3) MPBetreibV applies.
What this means for institutions
Without a profession-owned norm, responsibility for a consistent approach sits with the institution: an in-house procedure covering risk assessment, measures, responsibilities and documentation — derived from the S3 guideline, not from a standard that does not exist. In hospitals, rehabilitation clinics and care homes this takes different shapes; the basis is the same.
Where self-directed movement is not possible and pharmacological prophylaxis is contraindicated, the guideline provides for physical measures, preferably intermittent pneumatic compression (recommendation 7.3, grade A). The specific indication is always determined by the treating professionals.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a German nursing expert standard on thromboprophylaxis?
No. The German Network for Quality Development in Nursing (DNQP) currently publishes eleven expert standards — among them pressure ulcer prevention, fall prevention, mobility and discharge management. Thromboprophylaxis is not among them and never was in development.
What governs thromboprophylaxis instead?
The S3 guideline “Prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism (VTE)” (AWMF 003-001), currently version 4.1 of January 2026. It is a medical guideline, not a nursing standard: it governs indication and method, not nursing delivery.
Which expert standards touch the topic nonetheless?
Two. “Promotion and maintenance of mobility” covers the basic measure the S3 guideline names first. “Discharge management” addresses the interface at which an initiated prophylaxis is most likely to break off.
Who orders thromboprophylaxis?
The indication is a medical decision. Nursing carries responsibility for delivery: correct application, observation, documentation. Where devices are used, documented instruction under Section 4 (3) MPBetreibV applies.