Abstract
This report summarizes the results of a field test of ED quality measures. The project goals are: 1) to adapt the emergency room quality measurement collection, dissemination, and training to be relevant and useful in the rural environment; 2) to provide rural hospitals with a more consistent way to measure and improve the quality and safety of the emergency care they deliver; and 3) to test the feasibility of electronic data collection on these important elements of rural health care delivery. A total of 32 CAHs participated in the demonstration in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Hawaii. The Stroudwater Associates staff provided technical assistance to hospitals as they implemented emergency room measures of quality in chest pain and AMI assessment and treatment, and patient transfer communication. This report presents the results of two quarters of data collection during calendar years 2008 and 2009. The report includes data on the quality measures for the sample of participating rural hospitals, with comparison data included as available. The Appendix includes a description of the specific rural hospital quality measures included in the report.