What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll use ChatGPT to draft all your patient pre-surgery communications — pre-op instruction letters, bilingual translations, no-show follow-ups, and procedure-specific reminders — cutting individual drafting time from 15–20 minutes to under 3 minutes per patient.
What you'll need
- A free ChatGPT account (chat.openai.com)
- Your standard pre-op protocols for common procedure types (NPO times, medication holds, arrival instructions)
- Basic patient information for the letter (name, procedure, date, time, surgeon)
- Time needed: 15 minutes to learn; 2–3 minutes per patient letter after that
- Cost: Free
Important note on patient privacy: Do not paste real patient names, date of birth, or insurance information into ChatGPT. Use initials, or generic placeholders like "the patient" in your prompts. This guide uses fictional patient names in examples.
How-To Guide: Using ChatGPT to Handle Patient Pre-Op Communication
Step 1: Set up ChatGPT with your center's standard protocols
Log into ChatGPT. Start a new conversation and paste in your center's standard protocols (without any patient data):
"I am an ASC coordinator. Our surgery center uses these standard protocols for pre-op instructions: - Standard NPO: Nothing to eat or drink after midnight (except clear liquids until 6am for procedures after 10am) - Blood thinners: Hold warfarin 5 days, Plavix 7 days, aspirin varies by surgeon - Diabetes medications: Hold metformin day of surgery; insulin reduce by 50% - Arrival: 90 minutes before procedure time - Rider required: All patients must have a responsible adult driver — no Uber/Lyft - Bring: Photo ID, insurance card, list of medications, no jewelry Help me write patient pre-op instruction letters using these protocols."
What you should see: ChatGPT acknowledges your protocols and is ready to write letters.