Assessment of patient satisfaction with the preoperative anesthetic evaluation

Abstract

BackgroundThe evaluation of patient satisfaction is a core aspect of the continuous quality improvement in anesthesia service that can be affected by the preoperative anesthetist visit. This visit enables the anesthetist to know about the patient’s general health status and the nature of surgery, to choose the type of anesthesia, and to discuss perioperative complications and their management with the patient. Patients have sometimes complained about the information given during the preoperative anesthetic evaluation in the University of Gondar teaching and referral hospital. The aim of this study was to determine the level of patient satisfaction with the preoperative anesthetist visit.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted from February 15 to April 15, 2013. All consecutive elective patients who were operated upon under anesthesia during the study period were interviewed 24 hours after operation. A pretested questionnaire and checklists, which were developed based on the hospital’s anesthetic evaluation sheet, were used for data collection.ResultsA total of 116 elective patients were operated upon under anesthesia during the study period. Of these, 102 patients were included in our study, with a response rate of 87.9%. Anesthetists introduced themselves to ∼24% patients; provided information about anesthesia to ∼32%, postoperative complications to ∼21%, postoperative analgesia to ∼18, and postoperative nausea and vomiting to ∼21%; and spent adequate time with ∼74%. Patients’ questions were answered by the anesthetist in ∼65% of cases, and ∼65% of patients had reduced anxiety after the anesthetist visit. The patients’ overall satisfaction with the preoperative anesthetist visit was ∼65%.Conclusion and recommendationPatient satisfaction with the preoperative anesthetic evaluation was low compared with the Royal College of Anaesthetists standards. Preoperative anesthetic evaluation should be emphasized.

Patient satisfaction with peri-operative anesthesia care and associated factors at two National Referral Hospitals: a cross sectional study in Eritrea

“…The overall satisfaction of the Rwandan patients was similar to this study (67.3%) while the Saudi Arabian patients were a little less satisfied (61.9%) [24, 25]. A study done in Ethiopia that focused only on preoperative period revealed an overall satisfaction level of 65% [26].…”

“…Lack of preoperative surgical information and guidance was also one of the causes of dissatisfaction according to the study done at Sohag University [25]. Moreover, in an Ethiopian study, only 32.4% of the patients received information about the type of anaesthesia and only 20.6% of the patients received information about possible postoperative complications [26]. Preoperative communication from anaesthetists outlining anaesthesia options and realistic postoperative expectations cannot only alleviate anxiety, but offers patients a sense of control over their care.…”

Clinical audit on the practice of documentation at preanesthetic evaluation in a specialized university hospital

“…This is in-line with previous studies. [2243] In relation to this, ASA physical status is commonly used for stratification of perioperative outcomes. We found 71.3% PAETs had appropriate ASA physical status record.…”

Standardizing endpoints in perioperative research

“…The importance of patient satisfaction after surgery and/or anesthesia has been increasingly recognized both in its own right and as a metric for quality of care. [53][54][55] Furthermore, there is some evidence linking positive patient experience and clinical outcome. [56][57][58] Concerns have arisen, however, over the use of non-validated tools to measure patient experience despite the availability of well-validated instruments.…”