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.

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.

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 predesigned protocol of performance indicators as a template for the evaluation.

The management group that scored lowest in management skills also scored lowest in staff skills.

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.