[Potential for the survey of quality indicators based on a national emergency department registry : A systematic literature search]

Abstract

Background: Emergency department processes are often key for successful treatment. Therefore, collection of quality indicators is demanded. A basis for the collection is systematic, electronic documentation. The development of paper-based documentation into an electronic and interoperable national emergency registry is-besides the establishment of quality management for emergency departments-a target of the AKTIN project. The objective of this research is identification of internationally applied quality indicators.

Methods: For the investigation of the current status of quality management in emergency departments based on quality indicators, a systematic literature search of the database PubMed, the Cochrane Library and the internet was performed.

Results: Of the 170 internationally applied quality indicators, 25 with at least two references are identified. A total of 10 quality indicators are ascertainable by the data set. An enlargement of the data set will enable the collection of seven further quality indicators. The implementation of data of care behind the emergency processes will provide eight additional quality indicators.

Conclusion: This work was able to show that the potential of a national emergency registry for the establishment of quality indicators corresponds with the international systems taken into consideration and could provide a comparable collection of quality indicators.

Keywords: Emergency department; Quality indicators; Quality management; Quality of care; Registry.