ABSTRACT
One of the critical components of any Clinical Co-Management Agreement (CCMA) is the role of physicians. This chapter discusses one method of patient-centered surgical care, the Perioperative Surgical Home, and describes how Clinical Co-Management allows this program to be implemented in both academic and community medical centers. Part of the surgical home involves preadmission testing and the presurgical medical evaluation. CCMA would allow for physicians and hospitals to work collaboratively to develop key protocols and quality metrics to be utilized in preparing patients for surgery, managing surgery, and ensuring a rapid and healthy recovery for the patient. There are many approaches to presurgical testing and evaluation that range from a physician run preoperative clinic in which all patients are seen by an anesthesiologist prior to surgery in person, to utilization of protocols and guidelines that help determine which patients get what testing and who is informed of the information.
