Quality Metrics

• ? Rates of medical and system errors including mortality rates.
• ? Rates of self-injurious behavior in the ED.
• ? Elopement rates. This can also include “left without treatment” rates and “left against medical advice” rates.
• ? Rates of assault in the ED, delineated by victim, staff, or patient. This certainly can be linked with cost metrics, in that medical malpractice suits as well as worker compensation claims affect the system adversely as well. Our experience is that active and tailored treatment in the ED decreases the occurrences of these issues.
• ? Rates of restraint use. While physical restraints are easiest to identify, we encourage administrators to evaluate the practice of administering medications against the will of the patient, and how it classifies as “chemical” restraint within the system.
• ? Patient and staff satisfaction. This is a population that has been neglected when looking at patient satisfaction. Advocating for including these patients in the current satisfaction surveys, or the creation of a new survey may be required.
• ? Prescriptions written. The purpose of this metric is to establish trends and goals such as decreasing unnecessary controlled substance prescriptions (e.g., opioid and benzodiazepines) from the ED.