Prescreening

The process of prescreening procedural sedation patients has a critical impact on the safety, efficiency, and quality of a sedation service. Prescreening is a multilevel process that ideally starts at the time of scheduling and allows the sedationist to discern physical or mental health issues that may put the patient at higher risk during a sedated procedure. Foreknowledge of risk indicators enables the sedationist to be better prepared or to refer the patient to a different setting for the procedure. Prescreening also ensures that the patient and family have the logistical information needed for them to be in the correct place at the correct time and properly prepared so that the sedation can be completed safely and efficiently. Prescreening also affords excellence in patient satisfaction.