The need for specialized preanesthesia clinics for day admission cardiac and major vascular surgery patients.
The majority of patients undergoing surgical procedures today are not admitted to the hospital prior to the morning of surgery. In a medical world that strives not only for patient safety, but also for cost containment, Day Admission Surgery (DAS) plays an important role in our healthcare systems. This is true even for patients undergoing cardiac and major vascular (CMV) procedures. However, CMV patients often present with more complicated pre-, intra- and post-operative issues than other surgical patients.In order to optimize the preoperative evaluation and care of CMV patients, we developed a specialized Pre-Anesthesia Clinic (PAC). We believed that patients, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and intensive care unit (ICU) teams would all benefit when appropriate preoperative evaluations are thoughtfully performed by those specializing in the care of these complicated patients. Planning for this specialized clinic included a survey of other institutions' practices. Following initiation of our clinic, we performed a patient satisfaction survey. We report these findings along with the demographic data concerning the patients and types of surgeries evaluated in our initial experience. Finally, we discuss the preoperative evaluation including various areas of assessment provided by our PAC.
Flynn
Brigid C
BC
Department of Anesthesiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA. brigid.flynn@mountsinai.org
de Perio
Marietta
M
Hughes
Ellen
E
Silvay
George
G
D000758:Anesthesia / Q000379:methods*; D002170:Canada; D013504:Cardiovascular Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000379:methods*; D013812:Therapeutics; D014481:United States