Patient selection criteria for improving quality and safety in patients undergoing ambulatory and day-care surgery

Introduction: With advances in monitoring, anesthesia, and minimally invasive techniques, same-day surgeries are expected to rise significantly in the coming years. In this group, patients undergo diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and are sent home on the same day. This poses a great responsibility on the doctors involved and the hospital services, in ensuring the absence of delays, unanticipated admissions, and unexpected adverse events. Patient selection criteria are being used effectively by various centers across the world to prevent elective case cancellation and unplanned hospital admission and identify high-risk cases for major complications including morbidity and mortality. In recent year patient selection criteria, based on the latest guidelines, are being used to identify the risk factors and channel patients for ambulatory, day-care, and inpatient categories. Aims and Objectives: This article purposes a proper patient selection process for the improvement of quality and safety in patients undergoing day-care and office-based procedures. The patient selection criteria, if understood by all the team players, is instrumental in providing clinical guidance and appropriate patient triaging for caring for an ever-increasing, large volume of same-day surgical population. As the volume and complexity of the patient population grow, it is important to revise the patient selection criteria from time to time. Conclusion: Patient selection criteria have to be developed and modified by bodies and institutions to suit local circumstances to channel patients for ambulatory, day-care, and inpatient categories. Processes, administrative, clinical, and technical standards must be in-built into place and the pathway need to be well understood by all the team players in an institution.