Welch S, Augustine J, Camargo CA Jr, Reese C. Emergency department performance measures and benchmarking summit. Academic Emergency Medicine. 2006 Oct;13(10):1074-1080. Epub 2006 Aug 31.
There is a recognized lack of consistency in definitions regarding basic elements of Emergency Department (ED) operations. As hospitals begin analyzing patient flow and ED processes, there is a need for the standardization of metrics for benchmarking purposes.
In this article, the findings are presented of a consensus group created to address the standardization of performance measures for emergency medicine. This group, whose members have affiliations with most major organizations interested in emergency medicine performance, benchmarking and quality improvement, was tasked with standardizing definitions pertinent to emergency department performance measures, creating a set of general and operational measures, developing a comparison system for benchmarking, and creating a plan for the dissemination of this information. The formation of this group, the problem statement, and the mission statement for the summit are all described, and the consensus document is presented.
