University Hospital Southampton is using online questionnaires to help patients prepare for surgery.
The new approach is based on years of research that shows that preparing well can improve wellbeing, reduce problems after surgery and speed up recovery.
The perioperative team have started to use an online personal health record known as My Medical Record to learn more about surgery patients.
They use this to help patients improve their health before an operation.
The method has been developed and tested by researchers from the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). The project was led by Prof Denny Levett and funded by NHS England.
What is perioperative care?
Perioperative care supports patients before, during and immediately after major surgery.
It aims to help patients prepare for an operation by taking steps to improve their physical and mental health.
This may involve quitting smoking, cutting down on alcohol, improving diet and doing more exercise.
Health screening questionnaire
Patients answer a series of questions about their medical conditions, diet and lifestyle.
The perioperative team can then provide advice on the areas they need to work on, such as reducing alcohol or increasing exercise. They can refer patients to supervised exercise programmes in the community, dieticians, specialist medical teams or for psychological support as needed.
Over 800 patients have completed the questionnaire so far. Those at most risk have been identified earlier, allowing better preparation for surgery.
Learn more about the questionnaire in the video below.