Preoperative Risk Assessment and Triage Tool improves outcomes and efficiency in surgical care
Posted on December 9, 2024
The prospect of a surgical procedure can be stressful for patients, who worry they may have not done all they can to ensure they’re in an optimal state to undergo the procedure.
The Shared Care-funded, and Specialist Services Committee-supported Preoperative Risk Assessment and Triage Tool (PRATT) hopes to alleviate those concerns among patients and physicians.
Developed in 2023, the PRATT tool makes prehabilitation easier and more accessible to physicians. The tool aims to assist clinicians in identifying high-risk patients early in their preoperative wait time and provide standardized, evidence-based recommendations for timely interventions to improve patient health before surgery. This could include, for example, smoking cessation or nutrition requirements.
The tool uses an in-depth questionnaire to collect patient information and convert it into a streamlined clinical summary with guidance on preoperative investigations and medication management. It also provides recommendations for anesthesia consult, prehabilitation, and optimization.
“Waitlists before surgery can be used to improve health, fitness and optimize chronic health conditions if we have a digital screening tool to triage those that require intervention,” explains Dr Lindi Thibodeau, an anesthesiologist practicing on Vancouver Island. “Without this, people sit on waitlists until the last minute—when it’s too late to make a difference in their health.”
Aligned with the provincial BC Digital Health Strategy and the Provincial Surgical Strategy, PRATT is providing a consistent and standardized approach to presurgical patient care. The tool is a critical step toward modernizing and standardizing the preoperative care process in BC, benefiting both patients and the health care system through increased efficiency and improved surgical outcomes.
The project also helps to streamline workflows and reduce cancellations, which in turn is increasing efficiency and reducing costs within the health care system.
Today, the PRATT tool’s clinical content has been finalized and is available to all clinicians through the SSC. The Perioperative Care Alignment and Digital Screening (PCADS) Committee, which developed the PRATT tool, is currently working with the Ministry of Health and health authorities to explore rolling out the tool throughout the province.
This project is funded by the Shared Care Committee through the Perioperative Clinical Action Network's Innovation Fund.