RT Pre Op Team

Hours of Operation: 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Monday – Friday.  Patients must be signed in by 4:30 p.m. to be seen in the Pre-op Clinic that day. Location: The RT Pre-op Clinic is located in room 104 on the first floor of Rutledge Tower across from Elevators A near the pharmacy. Registration for the Pre-op/Lab is down the hall in room 113. Contact Information: The main number is 843-876-0116.

Ashley River Tower Preoperative Assessment Testing (PAT) Unit

Purpose

MUSC’s RT Preop Clinic and PAT Unit are collaborative efforts between the MUSC Department of Anesthesiology and the hospital administration to:

1. improve operating room (OR) efficiency
2. identify potential complications related to anesthesia or surgery
3. inform patients about what to expect on the day of their procedure

The MUSC Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine administers approximately 2800 anesthetics per month in the RT ambulatory OR, Main OR, Ashley River Tower OR, and non-OR sites including areas such as interventional radiology, cardiology, and the Digestive Disease Center.  The Preop Clinic and PAT Unit provide two screening locations for hospital pre-registration, nursing assessment, anesthesia assessment, patient education and lab work including bloodwork, urine, EKG, or x-ray to be performed prior to the day of surgery.  This process takes approximately one hour. 

You do not see your anesthesiologist until the day of surgery.  In one of our screening units, you will speak with a member of the anesthesia team who may be a nurse, nurse anesthetist, nurse practioner, or medical doctor.  Our OR records are a combination of electronic and printed information.  Thank you in advance for your time and patience as we make sure the appropriate data has been entered and documents have been signed.  Completed charts are then kept in these preoperative areas until the day before surgery when they are taken to the OR holding rooms.

For Surgery Clinics

Once a patient’s surgical history and physical, signed consent, and lab orders have been completed, they are sent to one of the preoperative areas.  It greatly facilitates the flow of information through our electronic systems when cases can be posted in OR Manager prior to patient arrival in clinic.  If a timely electronic entry is not possible, please provide a completed paper posting slip.   

When patients bring records from outside hospitals, please be sure to include a copy of relevant information in the OR chart (i.e. heart caths, ECHOs, PFTs, etc.) or identify if your office has scanned them into the MUSC system.  Anesthesia is particularly interested in studies related to the airway, heart, and lungs.

Should further treatment be required prior to surgery, the patient’s primary care provider or surgery office will be contacted to arrange that care.  If post-operative co-management of disease is anticipated, a preoperative consult with that specific service is recommended.  

Phone Screens

When medically appropriate, phone screens are available for patients having surgery in the RT ambulatory OR or Ashley Avenue Main OR.  These patients are generally healthy, require no further lab testing, and have no questions or concerns regarding anesthesia.  The surgical history and physical exam, consent, and posting slips are completed as usual.  A registered nurse from the RT Preop Clinic will then contact the patient prior to their surgery date. 

No Inpatients

Inpatients or patients who will be admitted prior to their procedure are not evaluated in the Preop Clinic or PAT Unit.  Once the patient has been admitted, you may contact the Main Desk in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at 792-2322 to arrange to have the patient evaluated by anesthesia personnel in the hospital.