A prospective observational study of the impact of an electronic questionnaire (ePAQ-PO) on the duration of nurse-led pre-operative assessment and patient satisfaction

ObjectiveStandard pre-operative assessment at our institution involves a comprehensive history and examination by a nurse practitioner. An electronic pre-operative assessment questionnaire, ePAQ-PO® (ePAQ, Sheffield, UK) has previously been developed and validated. This study aimed to determine the impact of ePAQ-PO on nurse consultation times and patient satisfaction in low-risk patients.MethodsThe duration of pre-operative assessment consultation was recorded for American Society of Anesthesiology physical classification 1 and 2 patients undergoing pre-operative assessment by an electronic questionnaire (ePAQ-PO group) and standard face-to-face assessment by a nurse practitioner (standard group). Patients were also asked to complete an eight-item satisfaction questionnaire. Eighty-six patients were included (43 in each group).ResultsAfter adjusting for the duration of physical examination, median (IQR [min-max]) consultation time was longer in the standard compared to the ePAQ-PO group (25 (18–33 [10–49]) min vs. 12 (8–17 [4–45]) min, respectively; p ConclusionPre-operative assessment using ePAQ-PO is associated with a significant reduction of over 50% in the duration of the assessment without impacting on patient satisfaction.