Performance Indicators for Major Incident Medical Management – A Possible Tool for Quality Control?

Objective: The objective was to determine the outcome when applying a set of proposed performance indicators on previously published reports from major incidents. Methods: A set of 20 different performance indicators were proposed. These indicators were applied to 13 reports from major incidents issued by the KAMEDO organization. Results: The most frequently reported problems were command and control at the scene (11/13) followed by communication and command and control at the strategic level. In 25% of the published reports there was enough information available to apply the performance indicators, and in these the goal and/or objective was met in 67%. Conclusion: Performance indicators for the medical management of major incidents and disaster can to a limited extent be applicable to retrospective studies. Performance indicators might be a tool for evaluating the medical response if reports are made with a different template. Further studies are needed in order to validate which indicators to use.