Fast-track Ambulatory Pathway

The initiative established an ambulatory care pathway for treating abscesses requiring operative drainage. Our project was primarily designed with patient safety in mind and to improve the patient experience by ensure timely access to care, with a focus on emergency surgery.

 

Campbelltown Hospital initiated a fast track abscess pathway to prevent unnecessary admissions and to fast track access to theatre. Patient demographics, length and cost of stay were compared between 50 pre-ambulatory care (PACP) and 50 patients on the fast-track ambulatory abscess pathway (FAAP).

 

Total length of stay for the group was 85 vs 17 days with a mean comparison of 1.7 days vs 0.34 days (p<0.001). This translated into a total cost saving of $74 100 in the FAAP group, with a mean comparison cost between the groups of $2884 vs $1402 (p<0.001).