Preadmission testing in elective surgery--improving the process

Patients admitted for elective surgery (inguinal hernia, varicose veins and hemorrhoids) were evaluated in order to determine the differential impact between two methods of performing preadmission testing (PAT) on the length of stay and on the completeness of the requested data. The two methods compared were: conventional, whereby patients performed the PAT in the regular clinics and laboratories of a health care organization (health maintenance organization-like) and an automated multiphasic health testing system (AMHTS). For these particular operations no significant difference in length of stay between the two methods was found. Based on the accumulated experience with these modalities, a model for performing preadmission procedures (in a preanesthetic clinic for elective surgery) was designed in order to identify high-risk patients. Use of this model can reduce cost, increase patient satisfaction and prevent hospitalization when immediate surgery is contra-indicated.