Quality indicators for the practice of emergency medicine in Europe (EUSEM-QI-V1): results of a European-wide expanded Delphi consensus process

Despite the well-documented complexity of agreeing what constitutes quality in emergency medicine, this European-wide study establishes a novel process by which indicators of quality can be agreed and acted upon. The spectrum of the initial 20 indicators (European Society for Emergency Medicine Quality Indicators Version 1) is broad, reflecting the reality of emergency medicine practice. This study found that currently low rates of measurement exist despite ranking highly as an indication of quality. This establishes a baseline of current practice and defines clear priorities for further work to address the 'evidence gap' regarding quality in emergency medicine.