ePAQ-Pre Op

Having developed and validated a web-based patient self-completed pre operative assessment questionnaire (ePAQ-PO), Sheffield Teaching Hospitals have implemented the technology to support a nurse-led, walk-in, one-stop Pre Op Assessment service. This was implemented in order to address escalating issues of capacity, manpower and patient flow.

Patients now go directly to a central pre-operative assessment clinic, where they self-complete ePAQ-PO using a networked PC, before seeing a nurse, who reviews their questionnaire report, arranges appropriate investigations and approves scheduling for surgery and anaesthesia.

Clinician time has been reduced by approximately 50% per patient, capacity has increased, waiting times for surgery reduced and patient satisfaction is high.

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 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30339687

The platform technology is hosted at STH, supported and provided by ePAQ Systems Ltd, an NHS spin out tech company; majority shareholder being Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.