Outpatient preanaesthesia evaluation clinics

E Lew, DJ Pavlin, L Amundsen
Correspondence: Dr Eileen Lew, Eileen.Lew@kkh.com.sg

ABSTRACT
In recent years, there has been a paradigm shift from an inpatient to outpatient preanaesthesia evaluation. This has been driven by rising healthcare costs and the increasing popularity of ambulatory and same-day admission surgery. These outpatient preanaesthesia clinics play an important role in enhancing the cost-effectiveness of the perioperative process. This review describes the structure of modern outpatient preanaesthesia evaluation clinics, and the associated benefits, limitations and controversies.

Keywords: ambulatory surgery, anaesthesia, outpatient clinics, preadmission evaluation, preoperative care
Singapore Med J 2004; 45(11): 509-516