Background and Objectives Rapid and efficient care for trauma fast-track patients in the emergency department (ED) is crucial to reduce mortality. Delays can be life-threatening and require multidisciplinary teamwork to ensure that patient care is as effective and efficient as possible.

This study aimed to reduce door-to-operation room time (DTOR) and mortality in medium-sized hospitals with limited resources.

Methods The study methods were designed to address two main challenges including delays in patient care and risk of delayed surgery. The study team identified that some patients who were not considered to be trauma fast-track patients were at high risk of internal injuries. These patients were at risk of delayed surgery if they were sent for additional tests, such as computed tomography (CT) scans. To address these challenges, the study team implemented the following interventions:

• Improved communication and coordination: The study team developed a collaborative training program for community and tertiary care hospital staff. The program focused on trauma fast-track protocols and the importance of early notification of physicians. The study team also implemented a real-time patient data-sharing platform to improve communication between the two hospitals.

• Clearer criteria for identifying trauma fast-track patients: Trauma fast-track inclusion criteria should be tailored to identify only the severe injury patients likely to require emergency surgery. This will allow the team to focus its resources on these patients. If the inclusion criteria are too broad, it can lead to burnout among the team or disruption of routine patient care.

• Streamlined workflows: The study team implemented many changes to streamline workflows in the emergency department (ED) such as implementing a protocol for rapid assessment, reducing unnecessary paperwork and administrative delays in the ED.

Results The percentage of trauma patients who had DTOR < 60 minutes was increased from 12.5% to 90%. The mortality rate in patients with Probability of Survival score > 0.5 decreased from 18.2% to 3.85%.

Conclusions A multidisciplinary, systems-based approach effectively reduced DTOR and mortality in triage level 1 trauma patients. This approach holds promise for other hospitals to improve trauma care and reduce mortality.