Development of a Preoperative Patient Clearance and Consultation Screening Questionnaire

The optimal timing of the preanesthesia evaluation varies with the patient's comorbidities. As anesthesiologists assume a broader role in perioperative care, there may be opportunities to provide additional patient management beyond historical routine anesthesia services. This study was thus undertaken to survey our institutional perioperative clinicians regarding their perceptions of patient medical conditions that (a) need additional time for preoperative clearance by anesthesiology before actually scheduling the date of surgery and (b) warrant additional preoperative evaluation and management services by an anesthesiologist. These data were used to create a pilot version of a Preoperative Patient Clearance and Consultation Screening Questionnaire.