Washington implements pre-operative care guidelines

Washington issued a new set of state standardized guidelines for pre-operative care in the form of pre-surgical checklists that address nutritional support to prevent infections, reducing cigarette smoking, improving diabetes care and coordinating medication.

Nearly one-third of hospitalized patients experience adverse events and the new guidelines are intended to reduce patient risk by getting them engaged in health changes prior to being hospitalized for surgery, according to a Jan. 17 statement.