A Specific Criteria-Based Guideline Improves Compliance With General Surgery Ambulatory Care Standards and Reduces Overcrowding in "Hot Clinic": A Quality Improvement Study.

Background A general surgery hot clinic is designed for the assessment and management of acute general surgical patients in ambulatory settings to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions. Overcrowding in the hot clinic is a major issue in many general surgical settings, and it is thought to be due to a lack of specific criteria-based guideline for identifying eligible patients for ambulatory care. We aimed to perform a prospective audit to assess what proportion of hot clinic patients meets the criteria for ambulatory care.