Day Surgery Program at West China Hospital: Exploring the Initial Experience.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Surgical Innovation
• Geriatric Care

Background:

• China faces unprecedented healthcare demands due to the world's fastest-aging population.
• Healthcare facilities are strained, necessitating efficient and innovative service delivery models.
• Day surgery presents a viable strategy to manage increasing patient volumes and resource allocation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze eight years of day surgery data from West China Hospital.
• To examine the growth, utilization patterns, and safety of day surgery.
• To compare day surgery with traditional inpatient surgery regarding costs and outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of day surgery data over eight years.
• Evaluation of surgery types, utilization ratios, readmission rates, and return visits.
• Comparison of average costs and length of stay between day and inpatient surgery.

Main Results:

• Day surgery demonstrated significant growth and safe, cost-effective utilization.
• Reduced hospital stay, lower infection risk, and increased cost efficiency were observed.
• Unplanned readmission and return to inpatient rates were evaluated, supporting day surgery safety.

Conclusions:

• Day surgery is a safe, cost-effective method to address China's healthcare demands.
• Opportunities exist to expand day surgery to more complex procedures.
• The study outlines an effective protocol and quality assurance system for successful day surgery implementation.