What do outpatients value most in their anesthesia care?

Area of Science:

• Anesthesiology
• Patient Experience
• Healthcare Communication

Background:

• Outpatient anesthesia care has become increasingly prevalent.
• Understanding patient priorities is crucial for optimizing care quality.
• Anesthesiologists' perceptions of patient needs may not always align with patient values.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the highest-ranked aspects of outpatient anesthesia care from the patient's perspective.
• To assess the ability of anesthesiologists to predict patient rankings of care elements.
• To compare patient and anesthesiologist priorities across different phases of outpatient anesthesia.

Main Methods:

• A mail-back questionnaire was administered to 45 surgical outpatients and 15 anesthesiologists.
• Participants ranked key elements of pre-operative, intra-operative, pre-discharge, and post-discharge anesthesia care.
• Data from 30 outpatients and all anesthesiologists were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Outpatients consistently ranked information and communication highest across all care phases.
• Physical aspects of care were generally ranked lower by patients.
• Anesthesiologists accurately predicted patient preferences for post-discharge care but underestimated communication importance pre-operatively and intra-operatively.

Conclusions:

• Patients highly value communication and information provision throughout outpatient anesthesia care.
• Anesthesiologists may underappreciate the significance of these elements, particularly in the early stages of care.
• Improving anesthesiologists' understanding of patient communication needs can enhance outpatient anesthesia services.