title: A centralized system to access acute healthcare services: the pros and cons.
abstract: Having a centralized access service results in a daily interconnetedness between hospital sites, which can create many benefits but also much controversy. Knowing the pros and cons of a centralized service and understanding the role and work environment of the access coordinator will assist you in deciding if this service would be of benefit to your health region. In this descriptive analysis of a centralized access model, a regional perspective is presented; however many of the strategies can be adopted to a single hospital service resulting in improved flow in clinical areas.
authors.affiliation: Fraser Health Authority.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D002170:Canada; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006755:Hospital Shared Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D009313:National Health Programs