Quick response teams: a new approach in utilization management.

In a 12-month pilot project, a "quick response team" was able to prevent 206 admissions out of the 237 referrals it received. In December 1990, an Ontario hospital implemented the project to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions of frail, elderly and disabled adults. Based on actual home care and hospital staffing costs, the pilot project illustrated that a quick response team is a cost-effective alternative to hospitalization for this patient population.