Managing quality improvement and risks in the hospital Emergency Department: a systematic literature review

Abstract The research aims to understand the current state of knowledge on risk, quality improvement and resilience in the healthcare field, namely in hospitals emergency departments, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. There is the need to valorize the emergency department role that has been underestimated even if it represents the most important linkage point between territorial healthcare assistance and hospital management. The study adopted a systematic literature review approach to summarize existing evidence on managing quality improvement and risks in the healthcare field. Following the inclusion criteria, a total of 59 articles published between 2011 and 2019 were detected. The authors analyzed the bibliometric characteristics and classified the works into three main themes and four sub-themes (Service quality, composed of Effectiveness of quality improvement strategies and Medical scribes; and Risk management, including Handoff and Crowding issues; Resilience). A cross-analysis of the themes highlights future research opportunities and managerial implications for professionals and academics and the development of interventions to enhance the value creation process in the healthcare ecosystem. This research emphasizes the need to invest in emergency department improvement for pursuing the patients’ wellbeing.