Preanesthesia Assessments Can Help Mitigate “Never Events”

Awareness with recall after general anesthesia is rare; however, approximately 26,000 surgical patients in the US annually experience some level of awareness during an operation. In the March issue of the Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons, Lenworth M. Jacobs Jr., MD, MPH, FACS, describes how a preanesthesia assessment can help ensure these “never events” never happen.

The Joint Commission, which is a global driver of quality improvement and patient safety in healthcare, requires use of a preanesthesia assessment. Despite this requirement, the organization found that the preanesthesia assessment is an underutilized tool.

In the article, Dr. Jacobs lists the elements of a preanesthesia assessment and the role surgeons have in discussing the findings of the assessment with the anesthesiologists and any other specialists involved.

Read the full article, “Preanesthesia Assessments Allow Safer Surgery for Patients and Surgeons,” and see other articles in the March issue.