Clinic location

Make an appointment

Patients are referred to the Pre-Operative Medicine Clinic through their OHSU surgical or procedural teams.  Self-referrals and outside patients are not accepted. 

Contact information

Call us at 503-494-1100  

Pediatric Pre-op Clinic 
Doernbecher Children’s Hospital has a separate pre-op clinic.  It can be reached at 503-418-5303. 

Our vision in the Pre-Operative Medicine Clinic (PMC) is to work as a clinic-wide team to partner with our multidisciplinary partners at OHSU to serve the diverse peri-operative/peri-procedural needs of patients across the Pacific Northwest to provide high-quality patient-centered care and opportunities for optimization that enhance the entire peri-operative/peri-procedural experience. 

What is pre-operative or peri-operative medicine?

This type of clinical care focuses on evaluating health and striving for best possible outcomes before (pre-) and surrounding (peri-) surgery and anesthesia. You may hear the term “clearance” or that you need “clearance for surgery.” Our primary goal is to learn about your overall health so we can ensure that you are medically ready to proceed with your planned surgery or procedure.  We work very closely with your surgery and anesthesiology teams to ensure the safest surgery and smoothest recovery process possible.  

Having other medical problems is not an automatic barrier to surgery or procedures – we aim to learn about that health history in detail so that the entire surgical care team at OHSU is empowered to take the safest and best care of you possible. Additionally, even if you are medically ready for surgery or a procedure, our visits are an opportunity to discuss strategies to get even stronger and healthier especially before major surgeries.  

Learn more about anesthesia from the OHSU Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine, the American Society of Anesthesiologists or the American Society of Regional Anesthesia. 

What to expect?

Our team consists of specialists in pre-operative medicine, including internal medicine, geriatrics and anesthesiology. Depending on your health history and type of upcoming surgery or procedure, your visit will be with a physician, an APP (nurse practitioner or physician associate) or an RN (nurse).  Most patients will not be seen by an anesthesiologist, and you will not meet with your assigned anesthesiologist for the surgery/procedure until the day of your surgery/procedure. You will not meet with your surgeon in our office. 

We offer in-person visits with some telehealth visit availability.  In-person visits include a physical examination and may include blood work/EKG depending on your overall health. 

Learn more about our team

As best as you can gather, please bring the following to your visit: 

  • Your medication bottles or a detailed written list of what prescription and over-the-counter medications you take (names, doses, time of day you take them) 

  • List of major medical problems/surgeries and treatment dates 

  • Information about any prior complications with anesthesia/surgery 

  • Names of clinicians you have seen outside the OHSU system (ex. cardiologist, diabetes specialist) 

  • Your Advanced Director and/or POLST form, if you have one

  • If you refuse blood products for religious reasons, please bring your blood products Advanced Directive.  We will ensure you have contact with OHSU’s Bloodless Surgery and Medicine team. 

We want any patient to feel they can proactively ask questions about their upcoming surgery and recovery.  However, many questions are better to ask your surgeon (especially technical details about the surgery and what to expect afterwards including activity restrictions). 

Questions our team can best answer: 

  • What medications should I take on my surgery/procedure day? 

  • Do I need to hold any medications before my surgery/procedure day? 

  • Do I need any blood tests or an EKG before surgery? 

  • How can I strengthen my physical health before surgery? 

  • How can I strengthen my brain health before surgery? 

  • Read through your After Visit Summary (AVS) as soon as possible. This contains important information about preparing for surgery, especially instructions for medications. 

  • Follow medication instructions in your After Visit Summary (AVS).  You might have received generic instructions from your surgeon about stopping aspirin or blood thinners, but please follow the instructions individualized for you at your Pre-op Clinic visit. Contact us with any medication questions. 

  • Review the list of what to pack to bring with you (ex. CPAP machine, inhalers, advanced directive). 

  • Follow additional instructions from your surgeon (ex. Bowel preparation, nutrition). 

  • If we recommended additional tests, please complete those (ex. Stress test, additional blood tests). 

  • Follow any instructions for strengthening your physical and brain health before surgery. 

  • Additional resources can be found under "Preparing for Surgery" and under "Getting Stronger and Healthier for Surgery"