Figure 1

Conventional and Perioperative System preprocedural processes at Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong. There are three types of patient groups: Day only admissions (patients admitted and discharged on the same day after elective surgery), Day of surgery admissions (patients admitted on the day of elective surgery and then stay in hospital for at least one night) and Inpatients (patients admitted before the day of surgery and then discharged on the same day or afterwards following surgery). The Perioperative System was operational in 2006 but a dedicated pre-anesthetic clinic space was not available until July 2008.