GETTING PATIENTS OUT OF THE HOSPITAL SOONER.

Patients used to spend several hours, sometimes days, in the hospital following surgery. Now, many individuals walk out the hospital door less than an hour or two after waking up from procedures. The speedy process is due largely to fast-tracking--keeping patients who are under general anesthesia in a lighter anesthetized state so they regain consciousness sooner. Many hospitals and health care centers have embraced this fast-tracking approach as a way to decrease staffing costs while maintaining quality care. Working with colleagues at Stanford and Duke universities, however, Franklin Dexter, associate professor of anesthesia, University of Iowa, Iowa City, has found that the financial benefits of fast-tracking varies among institutions.

Fast-tracking can decrease institutions' costs because less staffing time is required. Patients wake up more quickly and can leave the operating room sooner. In addition, the patients might not have to stay in...