[Clinical pathway, quality circle and standard operating procedures as tools for quality management in the trauma...

In each hospital the trauma resuscitation room in emergency departments is one of the areas with the highest rate of critical incidents. Delayed and insufficient medical interventions have a high impact on negative patient outcomes. Anticipating and dealing with critical situations might reduce preventable errors in the treatment process. This can be achieved by implementing an algorithm-based structured work flow. In this context some elements of quality management are well-established in clinical practice. In the present study we describe the implementation of a clinical pathway and an interdisciplinary quality circle to improve management of the trauma patient.