Evaluation of the Quality of Preoperative Information Obtained Through Preanestes@s, a Web Based Application: Paired Comparison of a Web Based Questionnaire, a Virtual Non Face to Face Assessment and Outpatient Visit

Preanestes@s is a web based application conceived to lead patients through the preoperative period. The application includes a patient interface which offers general and individualized information on the perioperative process, with the possibility of generating a dynamic interaction between patients and medical staff. Patient interface incorporates a web based preoperative questionnaire that once fully completed, will automatically indicate which preoperative tests are necessary and will address patients to a virtual (non face to face) consultation or to traditional outpatient assessment. Both virtual and outpatient assessment will be performed by an anesthesiologist. The web based questionnaire will automatically assign patients an ASA grade (from the American Society of Anesthesia Physical Status Classification); this being the determining variable, although not the only one, when directing patients to the virtual or face-to-face consultation.The questionnaire therefore serves both for collection of clinical information, and as a patient classification tool as well.

Virtual assessment will be the performed by evaluating both the filled web based questionnaire together with participants´ electronic records. Face to face assessment will be performed in the traditional way by means of an interview with the participant together with the consultation of participant´s previous electronic records.

The virtual assessment will be reserved for participants without significant comorbidity, which would correspond to patients classified as grade ASA 1-2; this means participants without diseases or with diseases that do not significantly compromise the integrity of the participant: well-controlled hypertension, active smoking without major lung disease, non-morbid obesity, etcetera. Participants with significant comorbidity (grade ASA ≥ 3), will always be referred to a face-to-face consultation.

This study has been approved by the local Ethics Committee -Comité de Ética e Investigación de Huelva-and signed by its Secretary María Dolores Santos Rubio, date 18.12.2019.

The investigators´objective is to evaluate whether the information recorded through the web based questionnaire and the virtual assessment is of a comparable quality to that obtained with the gold standard, the traditional face to face outpatient interview.To answer this question, the investigators have designed a prospective paired stud. After obtaining the correspondent informed consent, the investigators will ask participants to fill the web based questionnaire. In participants submitted to virtual assessment after completing the questionnaire, an investigator will perform the virtual preoperative evaluation; these participants will also be submitted to traditional outpatient evaluation in order to compare both types of evaluation. In participants submitted to outpatient assessment, the investigators will compare traditional face to face visit with the questionnaire information.