For ASC Coordinators ·
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
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.
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.
Now request the letter with minimal patient data (no PHI needed):
"Write a pre-op instruction letter for a patient having a laparoscopic cholecystectomy on Friday, March 22 at 7:30am with Dr. Rodriguez. Surgeon's specific addition: avoid all blood thinners for 5 days prior. Patient should call us with any questions."
What you should see: A complete, friendly pre-op instruction letter covering all the protocols you provided plus the procedure-specific addition.
After the letter is generated, type:
"Now translate this letter into plain, everyday Spanish. The patient is not a medical professional — use simple language a general adult would understand."
What you should see: The complete letter in Spanish. Review it for any awkward phrasing; it should read naturally.
For your most common procedure types, create and save a version of the base prompt:
"Write a pre-op letter for a patient having cataract surgery (right eye). Surgeon: Dr. Kim. Procedure time: 10:00am. Special instructions: Use prescribed eye drops starting 3 days before surgery. No eye makeup day of surgery. Bring dark sunglasses."
Save each procedure-specific letter as a template in Google Docs for quick reuse.
When a patient doesn't show up for their procedure:
"A patient missed their scheduled surgery (knee arthroscopy, March 19 at 8am). Write a brief, professional follow-up letter: acknowledge they missed the appointment, express that we want to help them reschedule, ask them to call our scheduling department within 5 business days, and note that the surgical team's time was reserved specifically for their care."
Sometimes patients show up having eaten, or having taken contraindicated medications. Draft a future communication addressing this:
"Write a letter to send to all patients scheduled for surgery next week emphasizing: strict NPO requirements, exactly which medications to hold (blood thinners, diabetes medications), and that failure to follow these instructions may result in surgery cancellation on the day of surgery. Tone: clear and firm but not alarming."
Standard pre-op letter (any procedure):
Write a pre-op instruction letter for [procedure] on [day] at [time]. Dr. [name]. Special instructions: [any variations]. Standard protocols apply for everything else.
Bilingual pre-op letter:
Write the above pre-op letter in both English and Spanish. Keep them side by side or clearly labeled. Use plain language in both.
No-show follow-up:
Write a no-show follow-up letter. Patient missed [procedure] on [date]. Ask them to call to reschedule within 5 business days. Professional, non-judgmental tone.
Pre-surgery reminder text message (short version):
Write a brief SMS reminder message (under 160 characters) reminding a patient of their surgery tomorrow at [time]. Include our phone number [number] for questions.
Day-before confirmation call script:
Write a phone script for a coordinator calling to confirm a patient's surgery tomorrow. Cover: confirm appointment time, restate NPO cutoff, confirm they have a driver, ask if they have questions.