Interdisciplinary Design to Improve Fast Track in the Emergency Department

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Process Improvement
• Patient Flow Optimization

Background:

• Timeliness of medical care is a critical public health priority.
• Delays in healthcare delivery pose significant risks to patient safety and outcomes.
• Facilities aim to optimize patient flow and reduce wait times as a core mission.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance the timeliness of care within a healthcare facility.
• To improve patient flow and reduce the number of patients leaving without being seen.
• To evaluate the impact of restructuring the fast track service.

Main Methods:

• Restructuring the fast track service model.
• Integrating nurse practitioners into the advanced practice provider team.
• Implementing a care team approach for patient management.
• Monitoring key performance indicators: door-to-provider time, treat and release time, and left without being seen rates.

Main Results:

• Significant increase in fast-track visits, projected at 23,710 in 2017.
• Reduction in door-to-provider time to 48 minutes.
• Decrease in treat and release times to 162 minutes.
• Reduction in patients leaving without being seen to 4.7%.

Conclusions:

• The implemented process improvements successfully enhanced the timeliness of care.
• Further efforts are required to meet or exceed Medicare and Medicaid Services benchmarks.
• Continued focus on optimizing fast track operations is essential for sustained performance.