ABSTRACT
The goals of preoperative medical assessment are to reduce anxiety by acquainting patients with their doctors and explaining procedures and protocol; to facilitate the return of patients to normal functioning; to improve outcome; to provide efficient and cost-effective care; and to obtain informed consent. Medical assessments enable physicians to reduce morbidity by optimizing health status and planning perioperative management. Because perioperative morbidity and mortality increase with the severity of pre-existing disease.v" careful evaluation and treatment should reduce their occurrence. The preoperative evaluation is a time to ensure that the patient is in the best possible physical condition before surgery. Consequently, patients would benefit from a reliable method of preoperative assessment during which physicians examine them and order only the laboratory tests needed for perioperative care.!"
