Healthcare providers take certain steps for patients being treated for a surgical procedure. These steps have been shown to produce the best recovery and reduce readmissions to the hospital.
You can view data for most hospitals in the United States at
www.medicare.gov/hopsitalcompare/.
Patients who undergo a surgical procedure should
- Receive proper antibiotics within one hour before surgery
- Have their antibiotics discontinued within 24 hours after their anesthesia time ends
- Have hair removed in a manner that minimizes abrasions
- Have a urinary catheter removed within two days of surgery, if a urinary catheter is present
- Undergo active warming to keep body temperature at safe levels if surgery takes more than one hour
- Continue to take their beta-blockers before and after surgery, if they are currently on beta-blocker therapy
- Receive venous thromboembolism (VTE) medication to reduce the risk of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism