• H Aust, B Veltum, T Wächtershäuser, H Wulf, and L Eberhart.
• Klinik für Anästhesie und Intensivtherapie, Universitätsklinikum Gießen und Marburg GmbH, Standort Marburg, Baldingerstr., 35033, Marburg, Deutschland, aust@staff.uni-marburg.de.
• Anaesthesist. 2014 Feb 1; 63 (2): 105-13.

BackgroundMany anesthesia departments operate a pre-anesthesia assessment clinic (PAAC). Data regarding organization, equipment and structure of such clinics are not yet available. Information about modern anesthesiology techniques and procedures contributes to a reduction in emotional stress of the patients but such modern techniques often require additional technical hardware and costs and are not equally available.AimThis survey examined the current structures of PAAC in the state of Hessen, demonstrated current concepts and associated these with the performance and the portfolio of procedures in these departments.Material And MethodsAn online survey was carried out. Data on structure, equipment, organization and available methods were compiled. In addition, anesthesia department personnel were asked to give individual subjective attitudes toward the premedication work.ResultsOf the anesthesia departments in Hessen 84 % participated in the survey of which 91 % operated a PAAC. A preoperative contact with the anesthesiologist who would perform anesthesia existed in only 19 % of the departments. Multimedia processing concepts for informed consent in a PAAC setting were in general rare. Many modern procedures and anesthesia techniques were broadly established independent of the hospital size. Regarding the individual and subjective attitudes of anesthetists towards the work, the psychological and medical importance of the pre-medication visit was considered to be very high.ConclusionThe PAACs are now well established. This may make economic sense but is accompanied by an anonymization of care in anesthesiology. The high quality, safety and availability of modern anesthesiology procedures and monitoring concepts should be communicated to patients all the more as an expression of trust and high patient safety. These factors can be facilitated in particular by multimedia tools which have as yet only been sparsely implemented in PAACs.

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