Quick diagnosis units: predictors of time to diagnosis and costs.

Financial crisis has forced health systems to seek alternatives to hospitalization-based healthcare. Quick diagnosis units (QDUs) are cost-effective compared to hospitalization, but the determinants of QDU costs have not been studied.We aimed at assessing the predictors of costs of a district hospital QDU (Hospital Plató, Barcelona) between 2009 and 2016.

Quick outpatient diagnosis in small district or general tertiary hospitals: A comparative observational study.

While quick diagnosis units (QDUs) have expanded as an innovative cost-effective alternative to admission for workup, studies investigating how QDUs compare are lacking. This study aimed to comparatively describe the diagnostic performance of the QDU of an urban district hospital and the QDU of its reference general hospital.This was an observational descriptive study of 336 consecutive outpatients aged ≥18 years referred to the QDU of a urban district hospital in Barcelona (QDU1) during 2009 to 2016 for evaluation of suspected severe conditions whose physical performance allowed them to travel from home to hospital and back for visits and examinations.