Local and regional anesthesia
-
Obtaining patient informed consent for a regional analgesia block on the day of surgery can result in surgical case delays. We hypothesized that implementing a preoperative electronic surgical order, undertaking patient education, and obtaining informed consent for a regional block in our preoperative assessment clinic prior to the day of surgery would reduce surgical case delays attributed to our regional anesthesia pain service and increase the percentage of patients for whom our regional anesthesia pain service was requested to provide a block. ⋯ When performed before the day of surgery, a surgeon's electronic order, patient education, and informed consent for regional postoperative analgesia can improve patient throughput, thereby reducing block-related operating room delays. The preoperative assessment clinic can serve as a venue to achieve this goal, thereby adding value by decreasing downstream delays on the day of surgery.