Preoperative anesthesiology consult utilization in Ontario - a population-based study

Area of Science:

• Anesthesiology
• Health Services Research
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Physician consultations are a finite resource in healthcare delivery.
• Anesthesiologists play a critical role in perioperative care, including preoperative assessment.
• Evaluating consultation patterns is essential for optimizing resource utilization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze current preoperative anesthesia consultation patterns.
• To identify potential inefficiencies in anesthesia consultation usage.
• To inform strategies for optimizing the allocation of anesthesia resources.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective, population-based cohort study.
• Analysis of hospital data from Ontario, Canada (2002-2018).
• Inclusion of 2,023,499 patients and 2,920,100 anesthesia consultations.

Main Results:

• Anesthesia consultations doubled between 2003 and 2017.
• Approximately 19.3% of consultations were for patients who did not undergo surgery.
• A significant proportion (37.2%) of surgical patients were classified as ASA I or II.

Conclusions:

• Preoperative anesthesia consultation utilization has significantly increased.
• Opportunities for optimization include addressing non-surgical cases and healthier patient profiles.
• Streamlining consultation processes can enhance efficiency in anesthesia services.