title: Patient preference for the pre-anesthesia evaluation: Telephone versus in-office assessment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Pre-anesthesia evaluation (PAE) is designed to reduce patient and family anxiety, identify pre-existing health issues, avoid surgical delays, minimize costs, and tailor an anesthetic plan. If PAE requires a clinic visit, patients must take time off work and may incur travel and childcare costs. A telephone-based Preoperative Assessment Clinic can minimize patient inconvenience, while maintaining high-quality patient care and improving efficiency. We assessed patient satisfaction with a telephone PAE and determined whether patients preferred a telephone PAE or a conventional clinic visit.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective, institutional review board-approved study.
  
  
  METHODS
  University hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted an IRB-approved telephone survey of 75 adult, post-operative patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Telephone survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients were asked about their preference for a telephone PAE over an in-person evaluation. Survey questions included assessment of patient satisfaction with their anesthesia evaluation, operation, and anesthetic delivered. Delays and day of surgery cancellations were reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The majority (97%) of patients stated they preferred a telephone PAE. Patient satisfaction was unaffected by driving distance (30±54 mi), ASA physical status or duration of surgery (169±159 min). Even patients who were not satisfied with their anesthetic (N=5) still preferred the telephone-based PAE. No increase in surgical delays or cancellation was noted.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The majority of patients in this survey preferred a telephone PAE. Given the large catchment area of our hospital of nine counties, telephone-based interviews add to patient convenience and likely increase compliance with the PAE. Even patients who live in close proximity to our hospital (<5 mi) preferred a telephone assessment. A telephone-based PAE provides high patient satisfaction over a traditional office visit while increasing patient convenience. Larger studies are necessary to ensure that telephone PAEs compare well with in-person examinations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, TX.
authors.forename: Manuel James
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Lozada
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, TX.
authors.forename: John T C
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, TX.
authors.forename: Amr
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abouleish
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, TX.
authors.forename: Donald
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Prough
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, TX. Electronic address: przkora@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Rene
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Przkora
mesh_terms: D000553:Ambulatory Care; D000776:Anesthesiology / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008487:Medical History Taking / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D057240:Patient Preference / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013689:Telephone
keywords: Patient satisfaction; Pre-anesthesia evaluation; Surgery cancellation; Survey