Information provision, patient involvement, and emotional support: prospective areas for improving anesthetic care

Purpose: To explore patients' perceptions of anesthetic care as measured by a patient-centered care survey. Specifically, the survey examined patient views of multiple diverse dimensions of care that are not typically fully a ddressed among patients receiving anesthesia services, namely opinions on I nformation Provision, Involvement in Care, Respect Shown, Physical Comfort, and Emotional Support, Method: A total of 268 patients responded to a patient-centered care survey , a self-report factor analytically derived instrument designed to measure the aforementioned dimensions of care. Results: Analyses revealed that the highest ratings of care were given to P hysical Comfort and Respect. Ratings of Information Provision, Involvement, and Emotional Support were significantly lower. Ratings did not differ as a function of site of service, inpatient vs day surgery, surgical service, type of anesthetic, or anesthesiologist Discussion: The findings generated from the study are of value in obtaining a broader understanding of anesthesia services from the patient's perspect ive, and also in directing quality improvement initiatives. Other departmen ts of anesthesiology interested in quality improvement initiatives may simi larly benefit from measurement of patient-centered care.