Leveraging the Perioperative Period to Address Population Health

Key points

• Population health in the United States lags behind that of its peers.

• Undergoing major surgery serves as a teachable moment in which patients are especially motivated to adopt risk-reducing health behaviors.

• Perioperative interventions that screen for and intervene on modifiable health behaviors are feasible to implement and may significantly improve long-term outcomes.

• Health systems can take practical steps to integrate available resources into the perioperative pathway to help patients achieve lasting health improvements after surgery.