Developing Emergency Room Key Performance Indicators: What to Measure and Why Should We Measure It?

Emergency Room (ER) performance has been a timely topic for both healthcare practitioners and researchers. King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Saudi Arabia worked on developing a comprehensive set of KPIs to monitor, evaluate and improve the performance of the ER. A combined approach using quantitative and qualitative methods was used to collect and analyze the data. 34 KPIs were developed and sorted into the three components of the ER patient flow model; input, throughput and output. Input indicators included number and acuity of ER patients, patients leaving without being seen and revisit rates. Throughput indicators included number of active ER beds, ratio of ER patients to ER staff and the length of stay including waiting time and treatment time. The turnaround time of supportive services, such as lab, radiology and medications, were also included. Output indicators include boarding time and available hospital beds, ICU beds and patients waiting for admission.