The Quebec Emergency Department Management Guide (QEDMG) is a unique document with 78 recommendations designed to improve the organization of emergency departments (EDs) in the province of Quebec. However, no study has examined how this guide is perceived or used by rural health care management.

We invited all directors of professional services (DPS), directors of nursing services (DNS), head nurses (HN), and emergency department directors (EDD) working in Quebec’s rural hospitals to complete an online survey (144 questions). Simple frequency analyses (percentage [%] and 95% confidence interval) were conducted to establish general familiarity and use of the QEDMG, as well as perceived usefulness and implementation of its recommendations.

Seventy-three percent (19/26) of Quebec’s rural EDs participated in the study. A total of 82% (62/76) of the targeted stakeholders participated. Sixty-one percent of respondents reported being “moderately or a lot” familiar with the QEDMG, whereas 77% reported “almost never or sometimes” refer to this guide. Physician management (DPS, EDD) were more likely than nursing management (DNS and especially HN) to report “not at all” or “little” familiarity on use of the guide. Finally, 98% of the QEDMG recommendations were considered useful.

Although the QEDMG is considered a useful guide for rural EDs, it is not optimally known or used in rural EDs, especially by physician management. Stakeholders should consider these findings before implementing the revised versions of the QEDMG.