
Heart clinic more efficient without more stress
At the Aarhus University Hospital (AUH) heart outpatient clinic, head nurse Iben Troilsgaard and her team have streamlined cardiac treatments, benefiting patients and saving staff time. Previously, patients received sedatives and an endoscopy at the clinic before anesthesia; now, the endoscopy and cardiac procedure are performed under a single anesthesia, allowing patients to wake up faster. This new process enables staff to handle three patients per day instead of two. Troilsgaard emphasizes the need to adapt and see more patients simultaneously without increasing employee workload. A nurse position has already been freed up, and employees feel part of a ‘well-oiled machine’, reflecting a positive change. Health economist Kjeld Møller Pedersen acknowledges similar improvements across the country, which often go unnoticed. Troilsgaard’s team is applying a similar approach in the pacemaker outpatient clinic to better allocate time to patients in need.