Perceived Barriers to the De-implementation of Routine Preoperative History & Physicals Preceding Low-Risk Ambulatory Procedures: A Qualitative Study of Surgeon Perspectives.

Background: For patients undergoing surgery at an Ambulatory Surgical Center, recent changes to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services policy allow for the omission of a 30-day preoperative History and Physical (H&P). Preoperative H&Ps for low-risk surgery may contribute to health care waste and lead to unnecessary preoperative testing and treatment cascades.

Methods: In this qualitative study, we conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with surgeons who frequently perform low-risk surgeries.