Background: Best-practice models delivering surgical care in the preoperative setting are unknown. In April 2018, we established a Same-Day Clinic (SDC) to increase the access and efficiency of general surgical care delivery.
Methods: This is a single-institution retrospective cohort study. We included patients who underwent elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy, inguinal or umbilical hernia repair. 112 patients were seen in the year prior to clinic creation; 84 were seen in the year following clinic creation.
Results: After clinic creation, the percentage of patients referred following an emergency department encounter decreased from 33.4 to 17.9%. Patients referred from primary care encounters increased from 28.6 to 44%. Patients who underwent pre-referral imaging decreased from 58.9% to 44%. The SDC cohort was seen 11 days sooner (40 vs. 29d).
Conclusion: The SDC increases access and decreases wait times to surgical treatment. It strengthens referral networks for traditionally underserved populations and reduces the burden of non-necessary preoperative imaging.
Keywords: Access to care; Care delivery models; Cost effective care; Elective general surgery; Surgery wait times.
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