Does preoperative testing matter, or is it an expensive waste of time and resources?
 
The American Board of Internal Medicine recently released its “Choosing Wisely” list of five medical services of questionable value to patients. Preoperative testing in patients undergoing routine surgery was among them—a designation with which the American Society of Anesthesiologists agrees. Still, hospitals continue to subject many patients to what might be considered excessive testing before surgery.
 
In a first, a multidisciplinary panel of clinicians from around New York City will meet to debate the issue at the New York Academy of Medicine. The session, “Why Bother! The Comprehensive Pre-Op Panel,” is being co-hosted by Elizabeth A.M. Frost, MD, an anesthesiologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Frost also is the editor of the widely read PreAnesthetic Assessment series of continuing medical education articles that have run in Anesthesiology Newsfor more than three decades.
 
Also appearing will be representatives from radiology, internal medicine, hospital medicine, surgery and pediatrics. The event will take place on April 30 at 6 p.m.
 
To find out more, visit the New York Academy of Medicine.