Perioperative medicine is the medical care of patients from the time of contemplation of surgery through the operative period to full recovery.
Perioperative care may be provided by an anesthesiologist, intensivist, internal medicine generalist or hospitalist working with surgical colleagues.
Perioperative medicine encompasses the care of the patient preparing for, having and recuperating from surgery.
In the practice of perioperative medicine the surgeon, anesthesiologist, intensivist and medical consultant work in concert.
Notably, in the last decade, there has been a concerted effort by various anesthesia representative bodies to incorporate greater teaching into management of patients during the perioperative period.