Arrival:
Please arrive on the time your nurse told you during your pre-procedure call. Please remember to bring your photo ID, your insurance card and accepted method of payment for any money due at the time of registration.
What to expect:
You will be asked to sign a consent form, which verifies that you and your doctor have discussed the procedure to be performed as well as the associated risks.
During pre-admission, the pre-op assessment nurse will complete verification of the correct patient, correct procedure and correct operative site by:
- Consulting with you and/or your representative
- Confirming that your consent form is complete
- Confirming "patient, procedure and site" with the physician's documentation
The staff will verify who you are, what kind of procedure you are having, and the expected part of the body on which the procedure is being performed, as well as double-checking what you tell them against the documents provided by your doctor's office (for example: X-rays).
Depending on the type of procedure you are having, the person performing your procedure will mark the correct location on your body where the procedure is to be performed. This is called "site marking" and is a critical step to preventing errors. The patient, family member, or significant other will participate in the verification process prior to pre-op medication, sedation and anesthesia.
Time Out...Once you are taken to the operating room, a "time out" will be completed by the procedural team before beginning your procedure to assure themselves that they are performing the correct procedure at the correct site and on the correct person.