Managing a perioperative medicine program

Abstract

Perioperative medicine is now a well-recognized albeit still evolving, interdisciplinary subspecialty, which encompasses a wide array of equally invested stakeholders and equally important contributors. The practice of perioperative medicine is fundamentally and optimally a collaborative effort, which aims to provide a comprehensive framework encompassing all aspects of the patient's surgical journey. Moving from a conceptual model of perioperative medicine to an operational perioperative medicine program and clinic requires a methodical management approach. This comprehensive management approach considers a variety of factors, such as defining the mission of a perioperative medicine program, expanding the role of the anesthesiologist and internal medicine hospitalist, recognizing the role of the advanced practice provider, stratifying perioperative management of surgical patients, developing and implementing a program, undertaking a clinical proof-of-concept pilot of a program, scaling up and building out a program, maximizing the electronic health record, leveraging telemedicine and virtual health, and providing adjunctive services.

Keywords: adjunctive services; perioperative management; perioperative medicine; preoperative assessment; preoperative optimization; telemedicine; virtual health.