TY - JOUR T1 - Editorial comment: Measuring performance in unselected emergency admissions JF - Future Hospital Journal JO - Future Hosp J SP - 42 LP - 43 DO - 10.7861/futurehosp.15.013 VL - 2 IS - 1 AU - Oliver J Warren Y1 - 2015/02/01 UR - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/2/1/42.abstract N2 - Emergency healthcare is complex, chaotic and challenging. We know from previous data collected in healthcare that we could do better. As a result of service configuration, working patterns and medical traditions, some of the sickest patients still do not see the right doctor quickly enough when they present to the emergency department, resulting in delays in receiving vital treatment.At the other end of the severity scale, some patients attend and are admitted unnecessarily, are often over-investigated and use up vital finite resources. We cannot improve what we cannot measure, so the creation of appropriate quality metrics for unfiltered emergency services is essential and time-critical.In this month's journal, Christopher Price and colleagues propose one such metric, namely ‘time to specialist’ (TTS), and explore its potential with thirteen clinical leads from a large NHS Foundation Trust. Their paper reveals the interesting tensions and challenges that arise when the introduction of a new performance measure is proposed. It is a useful addition to this emerging field and a starting point for further discussion.There is … ER -