Core Dataset "Emergency Department" of the German Interdisciplinary Association of Critical Care an Emergency Medicin (DIVI). Basis for healthcare research and quality control in emergency departments

Until recently no standards for the documentation of emergency patients in Germany existed, impairing the analysis of this group of patients as well as distribution of resources according to requirements. The section on emergency admission protocol (Sektion Notaufnahmeprotokoll) within the German Interdisciplinary Association of Critical Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI), in close cooperation with several German medical associations, established the modular core dataset "emergency department" (ED) designed to define a standard for the documentation of early in-hospital emergency care. Research and analysis oft he current literature, expert rounds, modified delphiprocess. This core dataset will make it possible to document the treatment of all ED patients in Germany, across professions and disciplines, in one standardized form while giving due consideration to the most important aspects: distribution of information, quality management, benchmarking, legal and economic aspects. Consistent definition standards within the dataset make it easier to compare procedural quality as well as the outcome of treatment within emergency departments nationwide. The intended integration of the dataset into computer-based documentation systems will achieve improvement in the quality of documentation, create data for commonly used nationwide registers and also decrease redundant documentation. The goal of this article is to describe how the core dataset "emergency department" was developed and to illustrate how to apply these data for benchmarking, quality management and the implementation of a nationwide emergency department register. Limitations are addressed, as well as measures to improve the core dataset in the future.