The Importance of the Postoperative Anesthetic Visit

Abstract

This study evaluates whether repeated postoperative visits by the anesthesiologist improve patient ability to recall the anesthesiologist's name and the patient's per- ception of and satisfaction with anesthesia services. In a randomized, prospective trial, 144 patients with an an- ticipated postoperative length of stay of at least three days were enrolled in three groups: Group A patients (n = 48) had one postoperative visit, Group B (n = 48) had two postoperative visits, and Group C (n = 48) had three postoperative visits. All postoperative visits were performed by the attending anesthesiologist on consec- utive postoperative days. Patients were contacted two days after their last postoperative visit to complete a study questionnaire. Patients were able to recall the an- esthesiologist's name significantly less frequently than the surgeon's name, and there was no difference in