Original Article(s)
24 April 2024
Vol. 12 (2024)
https://doi.org/10.4081/wpph.2024.9877

Implementation and impact of Fast-track in an Emergency Room: pre-post study

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Fast-Track, emergency rooms, overcrowding, waiting times, quality of care
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Authors

Carlo Alboreo
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4026-9587
Servizio 118 ASL Barletta-Andria-Trani (BAT), Italy.
Roberta Di Matteo
rdimatteo@ospedale.al.it
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8249-8284
SC Infrastructure Research Training Innovation, Department of Integrated Activities Research Innovation, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria SS Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo, Alessandria, Italy.
Gianluigi Piazzolla
Acceptance and Emergency Medicine and Surgery, Mons. Dimiccoli Hospital Barletta, Italy.
Lucia Di Nardo
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7904-1595
Acceptance and Emergency Medicine and Surgery, Mons. Dimiccoli Hospital Barletta, Italy.
Giuseppe Dipaola
Director of Emergency Department ASL Barletta-Andria-Trani (BAT), Italy.
Enkeleda Gjini
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Catholic University “Our Lady of Food Consel”, Tiranë, Albania.
Emanuele Tatò
Acceptance and Emergency Medicine and Surgery, Mons. Dimiccoli Hospital Barletta, Italy.
Alessandro Scelzi
Medical Direction, ASL BT, Andria, Italy.
Antonio Maconi
SC Infrastructure Research Training Innovation, Department of Integrated Activities Research Innovation, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria SS Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo, Alessandria, Italy.
Tatiana Bolgeo
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7322-7009
SC Infrastructure Research Training Innovation, Department of Integrated Activities Research Innovation, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria SS Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo, Alessandria, Italy.
Federico Ruta
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3849-0098
Director of Nursing Professions, ASL BT, Andria, Italy.

 

Background: overcrowding and long waiting times are major problems in Emergency Departments (EDs). Fast-Track (FT) is a process developed to more effectively manage patients admitted to EDs with non-urgent conditions. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of the FT method regarding access in an ED. Materials and Methods: pre-post implementation study of the FT method. All patients attending the emergency department of the ASL of Barletta presenting minor emergencies with problems in the obstetric/gynaecological, ophthalmological, paediatric, otorhinolaryngological and orthopaedic areas were included. Results: of the 38,024 services performed in the ED, 1606 (4.22 %) were FT accesses. Analysing the data from the period May 2017 (pre) and calculating in minutes the waiting time from triage to discharge is 55 minutes; instead in the period May 2022 (post) it is 20 minutes. Conclusions: the FT method seems to be a useful and safe strategy to improve the management of patients admitted to emergency rooms with minor disorders.

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How to Cite



Implementation and impact of Fast-track in an Emergency Room: pre-post study. (2024). Working Paper of Public Health, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.4081/wpph.2024.9877
Copyright (c) 2024 Carlo Alboreo, Roberta Di Matteo, Gianluigi Piazzolla, Lucia Di Nardo, Giuseppe Dipaola, Enkeleda Gjini, Emanuele Tatò, Alessandro Scelzi, Antonio Maconi, Tatiana Bolgeo, Federico Ruta Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.