Preoperative communication between anesthesia, surgery, and primary care providers for older surgical patients.
Communication breakdowns between clinicians can detract from safe care. This cross-sectional study including 265 surgical patients and 249 providers (primary care, anesthesia, and surgeons) identified several communication and coordination challenges in preoperative care. Although nearly all patients (96%) reported that preoperative communication between providers is important, the majority of inpatient providers reported infrequent communications with each other and with primary care providers.