Impact of a Fast Track in the Emergency Department of Martin Army Community Hospital.

摘要

This paper evaluates the impact of the recent implementation of a Fast Track system in the Emergency Department (ED) of Martin Army Community Hospital. A study was conducted to determine if a Fast Track system would reduce the Length of Stay (LOS) in the ED, reduce the number of patients who Left Without Being Seen (LWOBS), and improve patient satisfaction between December 2004 and December 2005. Data collected for the six months prior to and after the implementation of the Fast Track in June 2005 determined length of stay (LOS) were reduced by a mean of 48 minutes for non-urgent patients and 42 minutes for urgent patients. The number of LWOBS were reduced by an average of 0.85 patients per day. Patient satisfaction improved slightly during the period of investigation by 6 percent. Statistical analysis determined these results were significant for non-urgent patients.