What is 'pre-admission'?

What is 'pre-admission'?

Arthur Shorr (Former COO and SVP of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center) gives expert video advice on: How will a hospital know that I need to come in for a medical procedure?; Can I request a private room for my hospital stay?; What should I bring with me for my hospital stay? and more...

The pre-admission process is something that happens for elective hospital admissions, where they can be scheduled in advance by you and your physician. The physician's office will call and book a room for you in the hospital on a certain date. The hospital staff will then call you and invite you to come into the hospital sometime before the formal admission date to get all the paperwork taken care of, all the examinations that your doctor may order - X-rays, lab work - that are done in advance, make all the financial arrangements. When it is time for you to come to the hospital for your medical care, all of the preliminaries are taken care of and you can go to your room and not worry about the administrative issues because they are taken care of, and focus in on the care issues of why you are at the hospital.