Streaming “fast track” emergency dept patients can improve ED management
Streaming fast track patients in emergency departments (ED) can reduce waiting times and length of stay for less clinically urgent patients without increasing waiting times for more serious patients and should be considered by all busy emergency departments, according to a study published in the latest edition of the Australian Health Review.
During a 12 week trial conducted in a tertiary adult teaching hospital in WA, patients with minor illnesses or injuries who were likely to be discharged were identified at triage and assessed and treated in a separate fast track area by ED medical and nursing staff rostered to work exclusively in the area.
As a result of this process there was an 18% reduction in the average length of stay (time from triage to time of discharge) for all discharged patients compared with the same period the previous year.
The average waiting time (time from triage to time seen by a doctor) for all discharged patients was reduced by 20% and there was a relative reduction of 37% in the mean number of patients who did not wait for treatment.
