title: Performance indicators as quality control for testing and evaluating hospital management groups: a pilot study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  An important issue in disaster medicine is the establishment of standards that can be used as a template for evaluation. With the establishment of standards, the ability to compare results will improve, both within and between different organizations involved in disaster management.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Performance indicators were developed for testing in simulations exercises with the purpose of evaluating the skills of hospital management groups. The objective of this study is to demonstrate how these indicators can be used to create numerically expressed results that can be compared.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three different management groups were tested in standardized simulation exercises. The testing took place according to the organization's own disaster plan and within their own facilities. Trained observers used a pre-designed protocol of performance indicators as a template for the evaluation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The management group that scored lowest in management skills also scored lowest in staff skills.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of performance indicators for evaluating the management skills of hospital groups can provide comparable results in testing situations and could provide a new tool for quality improvement of evaluations of real incidents and disasters.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Teaching and Research in Disaster Medicine, University Hospital, Linköping, Sweden. anders.ruter@lio.se
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rüter
authors.forename: Heléne
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.forename: Tore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vilkström
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D004190:Disasters; D006739:Hospital Administration / Q000592:standards*; D006740:Hospital Administrators / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007324:Institutional Management Teams / Q000592:standards*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011361:Professional Competence; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care