Research Rounds

TL;DR: To improve patient care, safety, and comfort, this project analyzes patient input to inform anesthetic practices. It aims to gain insight into patients’ experiences, feelings, thoughts, concerns, and expectations from anesthetic procedures and compare them with providers’ opinions.

Abstract: The overall aim of this prospective patient-centred multi-disciplinary mixed-method cluster of studies is to improve patient care, safety, and comfort by using a mixed-methods approach to analyze patient input to inform anesthetic practices. Previous studies showed that anesthesiologists were inaccurate in their perception of patient discomfort in at least 50% of the cases. Additionally, providers’ perceptions of patients’ concerns do not align with patients’ actual concerns. This cluster of studies aims to gain insight into patients’ experiences, feelings, thoughts, concerns, and expectations from anesthetic procedures and compare them with providers’ opinions. The results will allow anesthesiologists to reflect on their practice and consider patients’ perspectives, which might lead to improved patient satisfaction and compliance and potentially better patient care. This project provides an opportunity to detect gaps in training and improve the quality of patient care and can inform the development of educational and quality improvement interventions. All levels of learners will benefit from the results of this project, which will encourage self-reflection and inform faculty development. Anesthetic scenarios that targeted so far in this project are: routine and emergency Caesarean Deliveries, both under neuraxial and general anesthesia and labouring patients under neuraxial anesthesia.