Achievable Benchmarks of Care in Pediatric Emergency Departments

What are achievable benchmarks of care (ABC) for common pediatric emergency medicine conditions and processes?This cross-sectional study including 12 pediatric emergency hospitals and community affiliate sites representing over 5.5 million visits calculated ABCs for common pediatric emergency concerns (asthma, infections, and pain), emergency readiness (vital sign assessment, timeliness of care, throughput measures), and quality and safety (return visits). Quality metrics varied widely across sites, particularly in documentation, pain reduction, and asthma treatment, while return admissions and antibiotic stewardship were consistent; throughput measures, such as time-to-clinician and length of stay, showed substantial variability across settings.This cross-sectional study describes how systematic and widespread collection of electronic health record data and harmonized rigorous operational definitions for performance and outcomes allowed for establishing benchmarks of care to guide emergency care stakeholders in efforts to improve care.

Corresponding Author: Sriram Ramgopal, MD, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Ann sramgopal@luriechildrens.org).

Link to the article in your story

We encourage you to link out to this article in your story using the link below. It includes an access token that will give free access to the article for your readers up to one year after publication. (The link will be live after the article publishes and embargo is lifted.)

Please see the article for additional information, including full author list, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

Need more information? Contact us.