Implementing a Fast Track Program to optimize medical care, improve patient satisfaction and reduce healthcare costs

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

As part of our normal QAPI process the Department of Anesthesiology at Olive View UCLA Medical Center, a part of Los Angeles County's Department of Health Services, is always trying to provide the best medical care. Tertiary medical centers, like our own, often have not fully embraced Fast Tracking patients through Phase I of PACU recovery due to the complex nature of the procedures and sicker patients compared to ambulatory surgery centers. By identifying the proper case types and patient characteristics were able to implement a Fast Track program without compromising care that encompassed approximately 15% of the cases done at OVMC. By doing so we achieved the triple aim of medical care - improving or optimizing medical care, while enhancing patient satisfaction and reducing costs.