"Jaundice hotline" improves care

An open referral, rapid access service for patients with jaundice can shorten time to diagnosis and treatment and length of stay in hospital. By installing a system for referring patients with acute jaundice through a 24 hour telephone answering machine and fax line, Mitchell and colleagues (p 213) reduced mean length of stay in hospital from 11.5 days to 6.1 days. The authors say that the most important lesson they learnt was that, with a combination of teamwork and flexibility, major improvements can be made in health service without the need for extra resources.

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