Certain surgical procedures require that you have testing done in order to give the medical staff information about your condition. These tests may include:
Other tests not mentioned here may be ordered for you. If you have any questions about these tests, please ask your doctor or our staff.
Please contact your Primary Care Physician and s/he will specify where you should go.
You will be contacted by the Preadmissions department or, if you wish, you can contact them at (412) 469-5292 to set up an appointment for your interview. You will undergo a preadmission interview so that most of your paperwork for admission to the hospital will already be done on the day of your admission or surgical procedure. As part of the interview, you may have testing done.
If you do not have pretesting done at Jefferson Hospital, you will still be contacted by our preadmission department and may need to come in for the preadmission interview.
Certain tests do require that you don't eat for a period of time before the test. You will be given instructions for your specific tests. If you need more information, please ask your doctor or our staff.
During the preadmission process you will be interviewed by a nurse who will ask questions regarding your medical history, such as any allergies or allergic reactions you may have and if you've had prior surgery for any reason; give you (and a family member if needed) preprocedure instructions; and discuss the need for an advance directive and/or living will.
You will be given a patient information folder. Please bring this folder with you on the day you come to the hospital. It will prove to be a handy place to keep all the information you are given before and during your stay.
You may also be interviewed by an anesthesiologist, a doctor especially trained in the use of anesthesia. He will review your history and surgical procedure and recommend a type of anesthesia best suited for your particular condition.
During the preadmission process you will also meet a social worker who will begin planning the care you will receive after you have been discharged from the hospital. The social worker can also provide you with information on a wide variety of resources.
It is important during this process that you answer all questions asked of you and that you ask any questions that you may have concerning your care.
You may be asked at this time to sign an informed consent form, a release of information form, various insurance forms specific to your particular insurance company, and anesthesia consent is signed when patient sees anesthesiologist at time of preadmission interview. These documents are needed for your care. We encourage you to read them and ask questions about them before you sign them.
Transportation is the responsibility of the patient and his or her family. When making arrangements, be sure that you will arrive at the hospital on time.
On the day prior to your surgery you will be contacted by phone by our preadmission department after 1 p.m. and informed of the time you should arrive. If your surgery is scheduled for a Monday, you will be contacted on the Friday before your surgery date.
If for some reason you did not go through pretesting or preadmission, it is very important on the day you will be admitted to:
Report to the registration desk in the hospital lobby. At the registration desk our clerk will inform our staff of your arrival via computer and instruct you to be seated in the waiting area. When your name is called, please go to our admission desk where your information will be confirmed.
If you have questions about your insurance coverage or your ability to pay for your hospital stay, our patient account advisors will be able to assist you. Ask our admissions clerk to contact them for you.
You will be given a wristband to wear for identification purposes and escorted to, or instructed on how to get to our ambulatory surgery and short-stay unit, located on the first floor of the hospital. Once you are there, our staff will instruct you on how to prepare for your procedure.
If you have not spoken with our preadmission staff, you will need to at the time of registration. This meeting is arranged for you by our admissions clerk.
Two family members may accompany you to the ambulatory surgery unit and wait with you until you go for your procedure. After that, they will be instructed on where to wait while you are having your procedure.
Your family will be notified when your procedure is completed and the doctor may wish to speak to them. For this reason we ask that if your family members leave the waiting area they notify the information desk attendant as to where they can be found.
All visitors must stop at the information desk in the hospital lobby where they will be given a visitor's pass. This pass will allow them to access the floor they wish to visit as well as the public areas on the first and second floors of the hospital. If a visitor does not have a pass, our security officers may stop them from going to patient floors.
