Comparison of the Effectiveness of Different Preoperative Screening Methods: Telephone Interview versus Hospital Visit

Abstract

There are several commonly used approaches to screening patients for surgery. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages for the patients and physicians. The effectiveness of these various methods has not been objectively compared. The study is designed to compare the effectiveness to prevent last-minute cancellations by anesthesiologists between hospital visit and telephone interviews. We performed this prospective observational study to compare the effectiveness to prevent lastminute cancellations by anesthesiologists between hospital visit and telephone interviews. All patients scheduled for various surgeries during one-month period in the two different facilities were included in the study. In the telephone interview group, there were total 334 cases during one-month period. In the hospital visit group, there were total 348 cases during one-month period. Last-minute cancellation by anesthesiologists did not differ significantly between telephone interview (2/334) and hospital visit groups (3/348) (p = 0.956). In conclusions: telephone interview and hospital visit are effective preoperative screening methods to avoid last-minute cancellation.