Appropriate length of extended day care

Abstract

Extended day care (EDC) is a one‐day admission spending one night in hospital. Many EDC patients do not need hospital care over night, so probably they could be transferred to a day surgery setting, resulting in decreased costs and increased efficiency. The objectives of the study were to assess the appropriate length of extended day care (ALED) and a possible transfer to day surgery. ALED was defined as the time between the start of the surgical procedure and the final moment appropriate hospital care was provided. About 80 per cent of the patients could possibly have been treated in day surgery. The other patients could not be transferred, because of a prolonged ALED. With the implementation of new policies on admission to and discharge from the hospital and the use of altered types of operation room scheduling or patient logistics the transfer of most EDC patients to day surgery would be possible.

Citation

Panis, L.J.G.G., Verheggen, F.W.S.M., Pop, P. and Prins, M.H. (2004), "Appropriate length of extended day care", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 81-86. https://doi.org/10.1108/09526860410526691