The value of the visit: Quantifying the value added from a preoperative assessment

BackgroundPrevious literature from the study site identified the impact of the preoperative visit in meeting established guidelines and managing clinical issues and preventing cancellations. The authors sought to quantify the value added from the preoperative visit to the patient surgical experience.MethodOver a three-month period, using an electronic database, nurse practitioners recorded new pertinent information that was not previously identified in the medical record. They noted omissions, made corrections, and recorded narrative data that could impact the planned surgery. These data points were distributed over multiple clinical and nonclinical categories. Appropriate descriptive statistical analysis was performed.ResultsOver 1100 patients were entered into the database, with 2318 findings recorded, which include rich narrative stories. Approximately 20% of the patients seen daily had a new finding. The entries were greater in quantity and scope than the authors had anticipated.ConclusionThe study demonstrated that a multidisciplinary visit identified gaps in the preoperative process and added value to patient centered outcomes. Addressing the identified concerns could lead to improvements in clinical practice and add to the safety, quality, and operational efficiency of patient care over current systems.