Fast-track capacity mismatched to acuity mix

System failure identification

The fast-track area sits underused while the main department overflows, or absorbs patients too complex for it and stalls. Its capacity is fixed while the acuity mix arriving is not. Both failure modes look like a staffing problem and are a routing problem.
Data pipeline diagnostics

Eligibility is encoded as a static rule set applied at triage. The rule cannot see current load on either side, so it routes identically whether fast-track is empty or blocked. A rule that ignores state will be wrong in one direction or the other all day.
Predictive computational model

Forecast the arriving acuity mix over the next few hours and express fast-track capacity as a proportion of eligible arrivals rather than a fixed bed count. The mismatch becomes visible before it forms. Eligibility then becomes a variable the department can tune rather than a constant.
Workflow integration

Let the ratio drive an advisory on the triage screen suggesting when eligibility should widen or narrow. Keep it advisory, because routing authority stays with the nurse. An advisory that can be ignored is more likely to be trusted than a mandate.

System failure identification